To Your Mark: AUs
by BlueEyedWolf33
Summary: This is a collection of requested and written AUs that readers have submitted. They are concerned with To Your Mark, another Hobbit tale that involves Thorin Oakenshield and an elf that we lovingly know as Ren. If you wish to see a fic written, message the author or review with your request.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello and welcome to my To Your Mark Collection of AUs! I'm glad you could make it!**

**Now, if you are reading this, I'm guessing that you've read TYM, or at least what I have written so far anyway... And if you have, awesome! It's a really long story and I'm so happy that you got through to the 'temporary' end!**

**I just finished writing the DoS bit of that story and can't wait for BotFA! So, to keep me entertained with this story, I decided to make a bunch of smaller stories, concerning my OC, Ren and the majestic creature that is Thorin Oakenshield! All the stories are all irrelevent to my original plot and are only for my amusement. **

**I just really love writing about these two. **

**But, I'm also relying a bit on you guys. If you want to see a certain AU, either PM or review what you would want! You can reach me both on tumblr and here on FanFiction! **

**I love hearing from you guys and want you guys to be part of my story! **

**I'm accepting really any AU and if you give me an intriguing pairing, I could... perhaps... switch it up... (Legolas/Ren, Haldir/Ren, even Fili or Kili/Ren). Also, be a little bit specific like for instance, if you want cuddle fluff, cooking together angst, etc. **

**So, yeah! If you want to see something written out, just hit me up! I'll even give you a shout out (or not) if you want one! **

**Can't wait to here you guys, and, without further ado... I'll let you get reading!**

**Love,**

**Blue**

**P.S. You might also give me a rating, as in how... adult you want your AU to be. I'm not sure I want to write smut because it might... damange?... my reputation and I don't want to turn people off to my stories because I wrote naughty stuff. **


	2. Gladiator Ch 1

**Alright, so here's the first AU which was a personal one that I wanted to see come to life. I just find it really intruiging and was up late one night thinking about it and I was like. **

_**Yiiiissssssss!**_

**And made it happen. **

**Basically the premise of this mini-fic is that Thorin and the Company has reclaimed Erebor. Things went fine. Everyone survived. The gold sickness isn't affecting our favorite dwarf king. The kingdom is flourishing underneath his rule. **

**However, Ren was never on the quest. **

**In fact, the Battle of the Five Armies was more like Battle of the Four Armies. The elves had... problems. **

**Somehow and somewhere, they had fallen into a bad place of existance and, given their long life spans and tirelessness, had been brought before the other races and taken in as slaves. They are viewed as less than the other races of Middle Earth and are treated like dirt. **

**But, we'll learn more about this later in other chapters. That's right, this one is probably going to be a multiple chapters one. I'm not promising them in succession but it will happen and finish at some point. **

**READ ON!**

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><p><strong>Gladiator: Ch. 1 <strong>

**(Eventual Thorin/Ren)**

There was a sound knock on his door which caused the King glance back at it in the reflection of his mirror.

"Come in." His resounding voice called as he shrugged on his fur cloak, his servants struggling to lift the heavy article up onto his broad shoulders.

He heard the latch on the door click and it groaned as it swung open. In stepped two of his most faithful friends, his advisor and his brother, the Master of Arms and General of his army.

"You're going to be late for your own celebration." Balin murmured, stroking a hand along his beard as he read from a scroll in his hand. "No doubt Dain is already waiting for you."

"My cousin will be the death of me." The King murmured as he reached out and took hold of the raven crown which sat upon the velvet pillow. Raising it up, he lifted it so that he could place it atop his dark head of hair. "Him and these ridiculous parties."

"It's not everyday we celebrate the first anniversary of reclaiming the mountain." Dwalin murmured, crossing his thick arms across his wide chest.

Thorin only gazed back at himself in the mirror as his servants finished straightening out the fur, making sure that it all ran in the same direction. "The longer he stays here, the more I wish he could go back to the Ironhills already. It seems harder and harder to please him."

"Not to worry, he'll be gone by the end of the week... I hope." Balin murmured, causing both other dwarves to snort and grins cracked across their faces.

"What do you suppose he has planned for tonight?"

"Who knows." Dwalin murmured and Thorin dismissed his servants before turning to actually face his companions. "Hopefully something more... entertaining." Again, the three dwarves only shared knowing smirks as they moved to the door. "I almost fell asleep during the singers' performance last night."

"Aye, you're not the only one." Balin agreed as they continued down the stone hallway, following just a step behind Thorin. "I understand that those women were beautiful but... well, they were a bit tone deaf."

A chuckle resonated throughout their group and it was only a moment later that they came to the end of the hall that lead to the King's private chambers. Three guards stood at the end of the long corridor, all of them baring the symbol of the Ironhills.

"My king," One of the guards stepped forward, his spear held tightly in his hand, "It would seem that Lord Dain requires your presence."

"And where exactly does he ask me to go?" Thorin asked the guard, narrowing his blue eyes slightly. He felt pride swell in his chest as he watched the dwarf squirm beneath his gaze.

"He wants you to meet him down at The Pit. He says that he has a special surprise for you."

For a moment, the dark haired dwarf calmly gazed at the dwarf before he slightly inclined his head in thought. "Of course he has another surprise for me." Sighing through his nose, he resisted the urge to roll his eyes and instead nodded slowly to the guards. "Very well, lead me there."

With only slight bows, the three guards turned and began to make their way through the vastness of Erebor. Down and down they went, deeper into the heart of the mountain until the temperature slowly started to drop.

And then, all at once, there was heat as they passed by the forges which meant that they were getting closer to their destination.

The murmuring of many voices could be heard and the dark haired dwarf glanced back to share a knowing look with Dwalin who only pursed his lips. It was like Dain to do something like this.

It was strange that he hadn't known about the event, given that he was the one who usually organized the happenings that took place in the Pit.

The three guards led them down the darkened corridor. It was no surprise when they took a left suddenly and walked through another tunnel with guards stationed periodically along the way.

It only took a few moments before they emerged out into the light at the end and they were met with the vastness of the arena before them.

Fili and Kili were standing on either side of the door, dressed in their finest armor and when they saw their uncle approaching, they beamed at him and politely bowed their heads to their patriarch.

Smiling widely as well, the King reached out and clapped them both on their shoulders and drew them each into his side.

"Tonight is our celebration, boys." He told them as they embraced and tapped their foreheads to each others.

"No, Uncle." Fili murmured, his blue eyes shinning. "Tonight is a celebration of the King." He told him and the dark haired dwarf shook his head slightly. "Tonight we celebrate the Erebor that has flourished and grown beneath your rule."

"Cousin!" All three of their heads turned to look upon the one who had called to Thorin. Dain had risen from his seat upon hearing their quiet murmurings and felt excitement grow within him when he saw the King had arrived.

"I did not suspect such a grand surprise." He murmured as he embraced the Lord of the Ironhills.

"Only the best for the King." The dwarf replied with a grin before he turned to face the audience who had been roaring in delight since they had noticed the arrival of their leader.

Clapping Thorin on his shoulder, he turned to face the crowd and raised his hand as if to silence him.

"My good dwarrow folk!" He spoke once they had grown quiet. "Tonight, we celebrate the one year anniversary of our good king reclaiming Erebor!" A nearly defining roar resounded throughout the room. "And to honor him and his nephews for their valiant efforts, I have decided to impart a gift to them and unto you!" Another loud cry.

Beaming back at his family members, the dwarf then nodded to a guard that was standing on the arena floor.

With a sharp jerk of his head, he yanked hard on the chain hanging from the wall beside him and the large door that led into the arena fell open.

For a moment, the room was silent as they all held their breath in anticipation and it was only a short half second later that about three elves came stumbling into The Pit, three females. One that had pitch black hair while the other two had golden tresses.

With wide eyes, the three creatures stared around at the vast room around them as the dwarves let out cries of delight as they realized what the gift was that Dain had given them. For it was a gift of entertainment.

A bundle of weapons was also tossed out onto the sandy floor of the arena and the three creatures scrambled towards it immediately, hoping to find some sort of protection with them.

Thorin only turned to look at his cousin who had a dark smirk on his face.

"You give me the gift of a gladiatorial circuit made up of slaves…?"

"Only the best, I assure you. They have performed for me and my court various times." The brunet dwarf assured him, a strange glint lighting his eyes.

"I can understand the delight in gladiators but slaves…? And female ones no less."

"You need only give them a chance, my lord. I think you will find yourself impressed." Dain smiled darkly again and allowed his eyes to slide to the same guard who still stood by the door which had since been closed.

With another sharp nod, the dwarf yanked on the chain again and this time it opened to reveal a pack of goblins who came shooting out into the arena, hissing and spitting at those around them.

The three females, after having anxiously reached for weapons, turned to face their new foes. For a moment, they bristled but soon calmed themselves. There must have been about eight goblins total and once they saw the she-elves, they themselves went on alert and rushed towards them.

And just like Dain had said the three women delt with the goblins until all of them lay upon the sandy floor, black blood oozing from their wounds. Two of the three elves came away with a few scratched while the other had a deep gash above her eye.

Seeking his approval, the Lord of the Ironhills turned towards the king and found that he had a disinterested look upon his face.

Still, the show went on and more elves were brought out and battled against the whatever foes they were presented with. They now measured to be six in number, three males and three females. It was at least intriguing to watch how differently each one fought but you could almost tell that there was a certain likeness in all of them.

That they had been taught by the same person.

"Are you enjoying the show, my lord king?" A voice called from behind his immaculate chair. The dark haired dwarf sat up straighter in his seat and turned back to find whoever had spoken to him.

A sad excuse of a man stood between two guards, looking hopeful as he awaited his answer.

He had thin, black, greasy hair that fell to his shoulders. His clothing was rather grand for someone of his… status. He wore a fine gray tunic that had golden stitching. His trousers were plain but still of fine fabric. However, the coat he wore was lined with black fur and the fabric of his coat was also a charcoal color.

"Who is addressing me?"

"Forgive me, Thorin. This is Borgil, the Slavemaster and owner of the… um, gladiatorial circuit before you."

"It's a pleasure, my lord king." The greasy man bowed his head and the dwarf had to fight the urge to let his lip curl. Slavers were always the lowest and greasiest beings belonging to the race of Man and it appeared that he would be no different.

"I'm sure it is." Thorin replied cooly, waving away the guards on either side of the man before turning back in his seat.

"I hope that the entertainment pleases you, my king." He stepped up to stand beside his cousin. "When Lord Dain offered me the chance to perform for you, I was overcome with joy that my elves would get to fight in The Pit."

Thorin was only quiet for a moment, his face continuing to show that what was happening before him was of little interest. Glancing off to the side, he found that his nephews seemed to be feeling the opposite. They seemed to be entranced by the show.

"I will say it is intriguing: the act of putting a knife in the hands of a slave." The dwarf rubbed his bearded jaw in thought. "It could give them... ideas."

"Oh, no, my lord. They are strictly performers. Me and my other men keep them in line and make sure that all our weapons are accounted for when the night is over."

The King only hummed in understanding, lazily watching the fight before them. Seeing how uninterested his cousin was, Dain exchanged a look with the Slaver. Both of them knew it wasn't going well.

"Slavemaster, why don't you go see if there is something else that you have down there? Something rather intriguing…?" Inclining his brows, the Ironhills dwarf smirked slightly and the greasy man then understood.

"Very well, my lord." He bobbed his head, his own lips drawing back in a large grin.

Bowing towards the both of them and his nephews, the man left the way he came. As soon as he left the hall, a dark chuckle escaped his lips and he rubbed his hands together in anticipation. For he knew one thing that would certainly draw the King's attention.

It took him a few minutes to make his way down into the holding cells but he knew that he had time. The last fight was almost at its midpoint, the elves still had a few orcs to kill. As the night progressed, they would increase the number and skill level of their foes, usually starting with the goblins and orcs before moving up to wargs and sometimes they were lucky enough to get their hands on a live mountain troll.

Walking through the various cells, he had to squint to see into the shadows but when he came upon the last one, he took notice of the booted feet that sat in the circle of light provided by the torch across the way.

Only one of his fighters wore boots.

Withdrawing a ring of keys from his pocket, he fiddled around with them for a moment before he found the right one. Sticking it into the lock, he turned it and the door opened with a click and a low groan as the hinges protested. He reached down and picked up the discarded chain that lay on the cold stone floor.

"Oi." He called into the darkened cell and he furrowed his brow softly when there was no movement. "Oi, wake up." Reeling his foot back, he kicked one of the booted feet. The chains around the ankles jangled noisily and it was only a half moment later that he bent down and unlocked the shackles from around the ankles in the boots which soon began to move and shift position. "Get up." He commanded again, tugging lightly on the chain.

The creature on the other end began to move and the boots retreated from the light as it stood up, multiple chains jingling the entire way.

"Looks like you get to perform tonight." He murmured, taking the end of the chain and attaching the clip to a steel ring he always carried around. It made holding onto the chain easier. "Come on, then."

Walking out into the prison-like room, the man led the way and the being had no choice but to follow. As they made their way towards the chute, Borgil stopped at a chest and lifted the lid up, only to retrieve a set of ivory daggers and a pair of shackles.

Setting the knives down for a moment, the man turned back to the chained creature who slowly raised their wrists to present them to the man.

"Alright, listen up." He spoke in his strange accent as he situated the first thick shackle around their wrist. "You're really going to give them a show tonight. One that's bloody and gory. Dwarves like to see a good mauling so stretch it out a bit. Play with them if you like. You need to impress them, all of them but none so more than the King." The first one locked into place and he began to work on the other one. "We need the money and if you perform well tonight, I'll give you and the others extra food."

This caused the creature's head to snap up and a spark to enter into their eyes.

"Yeah, that's right." The other latched around the wrist and he released their wrists to step back and admire his work for a moment. Tightening his grip on the chain in his hands, he moved forward again until they stood in the chute. "Just remember, they love a good show. Bloody and violent."

Beaming back at the slave, he watched as one of their eyebrows twitched with interest and something dangerous sparked in their eyes.

It was only a moment later that the fight ended and his men herded the rest of his fighters back into the waiting cells where they would remain while the real attraction took place.

The thick wooden door before them was lifted up and before Borgil could react, he was being yanked forward. A cry of protest came from his lips as he was nearly dragged out onto the vast floor of the arena.

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><p>The murmuring that had been going on within the audience suddenly grew quiet as a loud shout of protest was heard from down below in the battlefield.<p>

Thorin felt his brow furrow slightly as he watched as the Slaver was suddenly dragged out onto the The Pit's sandy floor by a chain that he had his hands wrapped around. However, the person doing the dragging is what really took hold of his attention.

Sitting up slightly in his chair, he couldn't help but smirk and rub a hand through his beard as he watched the slave drag the Slavemaster out into the open before his people, their own hands wrapped tightly around the chain so as to note choke them due to the collar that lay around their throat.

The creature was female obviously, given the thick, blonde hair that was braided back atop her head and then left to spill aways down her back. It may have also been the leather breastplate she wore that alerted others of her gender, given it showed off quite a bit of her stomach, almost so much so that it was scandalous. Upon her hips sat a pair of dark brown trousers trousers and a thick leather belt. A simple piece of torn cloth hung down, acting as a tattered sort of skirt over her pants. Upon her feet were a simple pair of boots but boots no less, unlike the other slaves, he noticed. Leather gauntlets covered her hands and forearms and a pair of leather sheaths were strapped across her back, crisscrossing in the very center but were left empty. However, what was exceptionally strange was that she wore a leather muzzle across her face, only allowing her eyes to be seen. There was a small slit in the front that allowed her to breathe.

Thorin found that it was almost too easy to tell that this strange creature before him was Brogril's champion.

A variation between chuckles and murmurs of concern washed across the gathered crowd as they watched the female continue to drag him around. They could all see that she was wild, they were certain of that. And yet, there was a sudden feeling of anticipation in the air.

The Slaver suddenly barked something harsh in elvish, causing the creature to stall in her actions. For a moment, it was quiet as she stared the man down but she slowly let go of the chain, letting it fall slack so that it dangled between them in the air.

Cursing her under his breath, he yanked harshly on the chain and drug her forward, towards the King himself so that he could present his fighter to him. The female did nothing but stumbled forward slightly, the man having caught her slightly off balance.

"My lord..." He panted, slightly out of breath as he swiped some of his greasy hair from his face. "This is the event that everyone has been anticipating on this night."

Reaching into his pocket, he withdrew a key and everyone was tense for a moment as the blonde elf stepped forward, presenting her shackled wrists to the man. Scowling at her slightly, he continued to grumble as he inserted the key into the lock.

And as he was doing this, Thorin felt his interest in the fight peak all the more.

As if she had sensed his presence, her eyes had sought him out on his balcony just a few rows up and the dwarf lord was amazed when he finally got a good look at her.

Her eyes were thickly lined with dark charcoal, making her look all the more sinister. And yet, Thorin was more amazed to find that her eyes in themselves were the most striking about her. For they were the most intriguing shade of sapphire blue he had ever seen.

She glared up at him from her place upon the arena floor, patiently awaiting for Borgil to be done. She never looked away, she never broke eye contact.

When the Slaver was finished with his work, the man barked something at her again in her language and even then, she failed to look away from the King.

Borgil moved back towards the door where they had entered, glancing back at her the entire time. The door fell shut behind him with a resounding thud and it was only then, that the female allowed her head to drop. Turning back slightly, she glanced back at the door out of the corner of her eye to make sure that he was gone.

He reappeared only a minute later back upon the King's balcony. Bowing swift to the family of royals, he quickly stepped back up to the edge of the balcony.

The female was looking up at him expectantly and the man swallowed nervously before withdrawing a set of daggers from his the innermost pocket of his coat. Scowling down at her slightly, he tossed the blades down so that they landed just before her feet. The elleth failed to flinch as they landed tip down in the sand just before the toes of her boots.

Still glaring up at the Slaver, she reached down and picked up the discarded chain that still hung from her throat. She began to wind it around her neck so that it was shortened and served as sort of a necklace.

Then, all at once, she bent over and easily pulled the knives free from the ground and all those watching felt their interest peak as she skillfully twirled the daggers around in her hands.

Slowly turning back around, she faced the large wooden door and allowed her arms to fall to her sides, the shinning steel glinting evilly in her hands.

Glancing down at the King out of the corner of his eye, the Slavemaster was immensely pleased to find that the dwarf now held a spark in his eyes as he gazed at the female warrior.

Exchanging a look with Dain, the man only nodded before he then turned and gestured to the guard beside the door to open the doors. Yanking hard on the chain, the large entrance was heaved upward and out swarmed a hardy pack of six orcs.

Thorin allowed his eyes to drift to the ugly creatures for a moment before he looked back to the elf, wanting to gauge her reaction. If anything, her expression, from what he could see, had not changed.

Then, all at once, she was moving.

Both her knives were hurled across the arena and came to land solidly in the guts of the first orc that had stormed the field. Running towards him, he fell to the ground and reaching out, she took hold of her weapons and yanked them free, leaving the brute to bleed out on the ground.

The second orc swung a dual handed ax at her but she ducked under it and spun to the side, one of her knives easily sliding between his armor and up into his ribcage.

Another orc ran at her while she still had her blade stuck in this one. Using her remaining weapon, she blocked his attack and yanked the second knife free to stab up into his skull so that her blade entered into his brain through his jaw.

Black blood now began to coat her hands and her knives but she still pressed on, seemingly unaffected by what was happening.

Pulling both knives free, a crude sword was swung at her but she stepped back and out of the reach of the weapon. The remaining three orcs only glanced at their fallen comrades before allowing their eyes to drift back to their attacker.

She calmly stood there watching them with what one could only describe as a predatory look gleaming in her eyes.

Wordlessly, they all lunged towards her in an attempt to attack and even then, this seemed to cause the fighter little distress. She only stepped to the side and dodged the first swipe by the swordsman as she sheathed the blade in her left hand.

Then, all at once, she was clutching one knife in both hands and swung downwards. A guttural cry echoed throughout the vicinity as the orc dropped to the ground, clutching his handless arm to his chest.

Ignoring him, the female turned back to face the rest of her foes but was met with another blade. Quickly withdrawing the other one, she blocked this one with both of her own weapons.

The orc before her was obviously stronger and began to force his own ax down towards her. Still, she didn't panic and instead lashed out with one of her legs, catching the ugly creature in the side. This blow made him falter slightly and he stumbled off to the side.

Hearing something coming up behind her, she side stepped out of the way just in time and watched as a heavy mace smashed into the ground where she had just been. Facing this new foe, she was about to raise her weapons to try and block the second swung dealt by the orc but instead, heard more footsteps in the sand behind her.

Thinking quickly, she dropped to the ground and ducked just as the orc with the mace swung at her from her left. However, the weapon would never hit her.

Instead, it smashed into the skull of the second ugly brute coming up behind her with the ax. A resounding crunch was heard throughout the arena and some of the dwarves grimaced while others cheered at the sound.

Upon realizing what he did, the final orc froze for a moment, his eyes flickering momentarily to his comrade.

This was a major mistake on his part, however, given that the she-elf reached behind him and slashed the soft flesh on the backs of his legs. With a yelp of pain, he sunk to the ground, dropping the mace as he went. The female immediately slunk out of his reach and stood back up, slowly drawing up to her full height above him.

It was easy to see the anger drain from his face and it was slowly replaced with fear.

He wasn't to be blamed though. For the wild creature before him had just easily slaughtered his companions before his very eyes and he was now covered in their black blood. Thorin himself believed that should he meet someone such as her as on the battlefield, he himself would feel a panicked.

The remaining brute began to squeal and whine, all the while trying to crawl away from. The pathetic creature drug its lower body behind him in an attempt to escape her.

The woman forgot about him for a moment and instead turned back around to face the King's balcony, very well knowing that was where the Slaver stood.

Her hands, now slicked with blood, held onto the equally filthy twin blades. With her dulled sapphire eyes, she glared up at him, as if asking his approval. All heads in the audience turned and looked to the greasy man who only inclined one of his brows and slowly turned to look at the King.

The female herself slowly allowed her eyes to drift to the dwarf lords and found that the one beside the King was grinning like mad. The King himself, however, steepled his hands in front of him as he rested his elbows on the arms of his throne. An expectant look shone in his eyes and the elf knew.

Momentarily glancing back to Borgil, she heard his words echo inside her head. Blood and gore.

All at once, she twirled the daggers around in her hands and slipped them into the sheaths upon her back as if she had been doing it her entire life. Her final foe was still attempting to crawl away from her and was getting nearer to the door but he would never make it that far.

Ignoring him for a moment longer, she approached the body of the orc from before, the one who had his head smashed in by his comrade. The ax he had been wielding was stuck soundly into the ground.

Reaching out, she wrapped both hands around the thick handle and tried to lift it, only to struggle slightly. Furrowing her brow slightly, she tried again and was able to pull the weapon free from its place and took hold of it tightly in her slicked palms.

With that same dulled look in her eyes, she approached the beast that was trying to crawl away.

Easily catching up to him with her long legs, she stood astride him a moment as he continued in his attempt to flee from her. However, he had little time to respond as she swift brought the ax down into his skull, a resounding crunch echoing throughout the arena as the beast below her stilled.

Cheers of triumph and satisfaction rang throughout The Pit, the blonde standing over the body of her enemy as she left him to lie there in the sand. Letting go of the handle of the ax, it remained standing upward given that it was buried deep in the skull of its last victim.

Flipping her hair over her shoulder, she stepped over the body of the orc and slowly began to make her way back towards the other side of the arena. She only came to a stop when she stood before the King's balcony.

Reaching behind her, she easily withdrew the two knives and held them in her hands.

It was quiet for a moment before she slowly raised her arm and pointed her right blade up to the balcony. For a moment, the guards attending shifted nervously in their places but it only was when they noticed who she was pointing at did they calm.

Borgil swallowed nervously as the steel glinted up at him and he knew that he was playing a dangerous game. He knew her strengths. He knew that she could most definitely kill him right then and there with that very knife if she really wanted to. All it would take is one flick.

Thorin only watched with interest as she focused her icy gaze on the Slaver and raised her weapon towards him. She then spoke, though it was greatly muffled by the muzzle upon her face.

Not knowing what she was saying, all heads turned to gauge the man's reaction and watched as he chewed his lip in thought for a moment before he raised his chin to show his pride before barking something back.

The female narrowed her eyes at him then and raised her second dagger at him.

The Slavemaster took a small step back, thinking that she would _actually_ attack him. However, after a moment of being held under her icy gaze, she expertly twirled the knives in her palms so that the handles now faced him. And then, ever so slowly, she dropped down onto both her knees, still holding her weapons aloft, showing her submission as she bowed her head.

A slow wave of applause and cheers swept across the arena, for nearly everyone had been holding their breathe as they watched the exchange take place.

The large wooden door off to the side suddenly opened and another man stepped out into the arena, this one dressed less regally than Borgil but he was much more cleaned up and appeared less greasy than the other man. He had shoulder length, dark brown hair and equally as dark eyes, reminding him a little of his youngest nephew.

In his hands, he carried the same pair of shackles before and he slowly approached the female. She did not move as he drew nearer and he calmly took the knives from her before tucking them into a large leather pocket he had attached to his belt. He then set to work clamping the shackles around her wrists and after he was done with that, he reached into that same pouch at his side and withdrew a silver ring similar to the one Borgil himself carried.

Reaching out, he carefully unwound the chain from around her neck until it was free before he clipped the end onto the ring. Keeping her eyes closed, she rose on her own accord back up onto her feet, now once again bound and chained.

Thorin allowed his head to tilt slightly to one side, his eyes narrowing slightly on her form as he watched the wild creature before him suddenly become so docile.

"By what name does your champion go by, Slavemaster?" The King murmured, watching as the man gave one gentle pat to her long tresses before murmuring something that could not be heard. Then, the two of them began to walk back towards the doors, side by side. Thorin saw no signs of the hostility as he had before.

"The other ones call her 'Ren' though we've never been able to catch her true name."

"Ren." He tried the name out for himself, finding it felt odd in his mouth but at the same time, perfect. "An intriguing name to say the slightest."

"All of them have strange, short names."

"Where are they from?" The King asked, his eyes still trained on the pair in the arena.

"We caught her and another one running away from us along the path that would eventually lead them to Rohan." The Slaver himself frowned slightly at the memory. "Both of them were armed when we stumbled upon them and they put up quite a fight before we were able to capture the other one. Ren surrender when we captured her companion."

"Does she speak the Common Tongue?"

"Unfortunately not, my lord." Borgil sighed through his nose slightly, showing that this was clearly not to his liking. "None of the others do as well so I took it upon myself to learn their language and teach it to my men as well."

The dwarf only bobbed his head in understanding. "I anticipate seeing them again tomorrow night as well?"

This information seemed to startle the greasy man for a moment and he quickly looked to Dain for an answer. The lord only gave a short jerk of his head in confirmation and the Slaver beamed.

"Of course, my lord king." He bowed slightly and rose up to his full height once again. "But, if you would please excuse me, I have to go look after my fighters." He turned to leave but paused once again as the king spoke.

"Make sure that she gets plenty of food." The dark haired creature spoke as he rose from his throne, waiting to return to his chambers for the night. Borgil turned back to look at him. "Ren. Your champion." He replied when he saw the man's inclined brows. "Make sure she gets a reward after the performance she just gave."

"I will, my lord." The greasy Slaver bowed toward him again backing off the balcony until he was out of sight.

* * *

><p><strong>READ, REVIEW, AND LEAVE ME MINI-FIC IDEAS!<strong>

**Love,**

**Blue**


	3. Gladiator Ch 2

**Gladiator: Ch. 2**

**(Eventual Thorin/Ren)**

With a bit of anticipation in his eyes, the King couldn't help but feel his curiosity get the best of him again as he lowered himself down onto his throne upon the balcony, his nephews and Dain once again at his sides.

The large door was thrown open far down below him and out stumbled a handful of elves, including the strange creature that was the cause of his ever burning curiosity, much to his utter delight.

She wore the same armor as the previous nights but there was no show of bringing her out into the arena alone like some wild animal as they had the first night. Instead, the chain was already wound around her neck and she stood among the other five slaves, her eyes still sharp and calculating as she stared out at the arena seats that were now completely filled after hearing what had happened the first night.

As if feeling his eyes upon her, the blonde met his gaze for a long moment before she turned away when one of her companions spoke to her, evidently asking her a question to which she responded with a quick nod.

The large door was shut again for a few moments and the champion... Ren... barked a few orders to the others and she moved to the front of their pack, unsheathing her dual knives as she went before twirling them in her palms in her own form of anticipation.

All of them took up a stance before the door, their weapons clutched tightly in their hands.

Then, all at once, the doors burst open revealing a considerable amount of foes, both goblins and orcs. The blonde warrior was the first to leap into the mess of bodies, quickly followed by the others.

The King's eyes remained on her the entire time, watching how she moved so easily among the chaos around her. He marveled at her grace for a long moment, watching how she so easily twisted and spun, dodging strikes while at the same time inflicting them upon her foes. It was almost like a strange sort of fluid and deadly dance.

And even while she was doing this, she was somehow keeping track of her comrades around her. One of them was struggling behind her and as if she had somehow felt that one of them was in trouble, she had turned and thrown one of her knives, sending it sailing into the back of one of the brute's necks, effectively saving the female companion.

Then, just as quickly as the fight started, it seemed to come to a sudden end.

All the elves remained standing, a few of them scrapped up or with a few cuts but standing nonetheless. The floor of the arena was littered with about eighteen of the horrid creatures and their black blood which still trickled from their wounds.

With her darkened eyes, the female slowly turned back to look at him over her shoulder. An almost satisfied look shown in her eyes and this caused the dwarf lord to only smirk back at her and he knew she could see it with her elven eyesight.

It was like she was showing off just for him, like she was trying to satisfy him. Or intimate him, he wasn't entirely sure but he found that it was amusing nonetheless.

All of a sudden, another bunch of enemies was released into the arena.

Her head snapped back to face her foes and again, the battle was at foot once more. The elves were not so much a disappointment as Thorin first through them to be when Dain first presented them to him. They were in fact rather skilled and effectively took care of the job when it came down to it, even if it was a bit sloppy.

They were slaves though. It wasn't expected of them to be trained as fine warriors.

Just as the first one happened, this second brawl came to a quick close and the dwarves cheered and clapped for their fighters, obviously happy with their performance despite that they were slaves.

For as long as he could remember, there had been prejudice against the elven race. No one was entirely sure as to why or when it started but it still remained strong. Elves were only good for being servants, cooks, or in their case... gladiators.

Rising from his seat, the King himself slowly clapped his hands as he approached the edge of the balcony, that same satisfied smirk on his face. The crowd even cheered louder upon seeing that their King himself was entertained. However, he soon raised his hand in hopes of silencing his subjects and they did just as he asked.

"Borgil, translate for me." Thorin said as he glanced back at the Slaver who still stood on his balcony as he had every previous night for the past four nights. He never ventured down into The Pit himself again but instead chose to overlook things from above.

The greasy man snapped to attention and bowed his head. He carefully stepped up beside the king from his previous place beside Dwalin who only scowled at the man as he walked by.

"Tell me, my good fighters." He called down to the fighters in The Pit. At his side, the man began to speak elvish to them, his eyes flickering between the King and his slaves.

This caught their attention and they all turned back to face him, the champion with her eyes ablaze as she gazed up at him from below.

"I compliment you on your swift and graceful, if not brutal, fighting styles. For it leads to a very charming but destructive show for my fine people in these very halls." Again, Borgil translated what he was saying, speaking rapidly in the strange tongue. "But, I cannot help but wonder who trained you all...?" A quiet murmuring broke out across the crowd, for this was a common thought shared among all of them. "For it is strange for... _people_... such as yourselves to be able to wield a weapon as skillfully as you have."

Upon hearing what the Slaver had to translate, one of the group of six moved to step forward. It was another blonde female with striking green eyes. The only armor she wore though was a pair of vambraces and nothing else. The rest of her clothing consisted of a torn tunic and a pair of tattered pants. No boots encased her feet.

This surprised him for a moment but suddenly a hand shot out from the side and stopped her.

Instead, the blue eyed fighter, Ren, he had to remind himself again, was the one who stepped forward. The green eyed elleth only shot her an uncertain look but the second one simply gave a small but firm shake of her head, silently telling her to refrain.

With much defiance radiating from those eyes once again, she turned and looked up to him, silently giving him the answer he was seeking.

"Then I must compliment you singularly on your accomplishments. You must make a fine teacher." Borgil translated again, his eyes continuing to look between the dwarf king and his champion. "The past few nights have been very entertaining I must say for myself and my subjects. But, would it be so much to ask you, and you alone, to perform for us once again?"

Upon hearing his translated words, the blonde looked to Borgil accusingly as if she didn't believe that the dwarf would ask that of her again. Glancing back at the group behind her, she then turned back to face the King, her sapphire eyes alight with that same spark of anger he always saw. She replied something indiscernible to the dwarf.

"What did she say?" Thorin asked the Slavemaster, wondering what she could have replied back when the man failed to tell him what she had said.

"She says... 'If that is what you wish.'"

At hearing her answer, the crowd once again began to boil with anticipation and another quiet round of applause filled the air.

The elf kept her eyes locked with the dwarf lord's again and Borgil barked something harsh in elvish before pointing back at the large doorway that had since been left open.

A few of his men walked out from their place inside the tunnel and began to herd the others away and back into the holding cells where they were kept during the other fights. The champion watched them go the entire time, standing quietly in the center of the arena for some time. For a moment, the dwarf swore he saw something flicker across what facials features he could see. Was that... _relief_?

"Give her a weapon." Thorin barked suddenly, causing the Slaver to jump to attention again.

"Excuse me, my lord?"

"I said give her a proper weapon." The dwarf commanded, turning away from the arena below to look at the greasy man. "A sword perhaps?"

"I can tell you, my lord, if you enjoyed watching her with knives, then you will be pleasantly surprised with what she can do with a sword." Borgil told him with a slight smirk on his face.

Turning to look at the still open doorway, he saw Iren standing just inside the tunnel with his eyes on him.

Giving him a brief nod of his head, the man retreated into the darkness, only to return a few seconds later with a sheathed sword in his hands. Calling her name, the elleth turned to look at him and she took a few steps closer to him before he tossed the weapon to her. She easily caught it and gave the man a firm nod of her head before they closed the doors behind him.

For a moment, she simply held the sheath in her hands, her eyes running over the length of the weapon until she wrapped her hand around the hilt and slowly withdrew it.

However, the King watched as she suddenly frowned down at the weapon. Reaching out, she ran her thumb along the edged side of the blade. Then, she turned and glared up at Borgil, her eyes cursing him.

"You gave her a dulled sword?" The dwarf lord murmured, his voice taking on a more dangerous tone.

"She makes it work." The Slaver replied, crossing his arms over his chest. "And, I like to think that it provides her with more of a... challenge?"

"You would put your champion at such a risk?" Thorin turned back to look at him, his dark hair falling over his shoulder. His words caused both his nephews and his cousin to sit forward in their seats, intrigued with how he was suddenly so defensive of her.

"I put her at risk every time I put her into an arena." Borgil told them, placing his hands behind his back. He had a rather calm look upon his face. "But, over the years that I've owned her, my confidence in her skills has become unyielding. Even with a dull sword."

As he said that, he looked back into the arena, causing all of the others to follow his suit.

Expertly twirling the blade in her hand, Ren only allowed her eyes to look down at her booted feet for a moment as she continued to twirl the sword in an attempt to get used to the weight and balance in the unfamiliar blade. She then sheathed it and fastened it around her waist so that it hung by her left leg.

Then, all at once, the doors to arena were yanked wide open and the entire arena fell silent. For a moment, nothing emerged from the darkness.

Thorin kept his eyes trained on her the entire time and watched how lax her body was even while presented with new danger. Then, all of a sudden, she started to unroll the chain from around her neck until it's entire length rested on the sandy ground.

A sudden snarl came from the darkness and her hand immediately fell to the sword and the other moved to the chain, her fingers digging into the sand as she picked up the end. Then, all at once, she was running back towards the balcony.

Two Wargs came chasing her out of the dark tunnel at a full sprint.

She soon disappeared from sight and Thorin had to stand up from his throne to see where exactly she was.

Much to his and everyone's amazement, they all watched as she continued to sprint towards the wall until she was hurling herself up it, part of the chain around her neck tangled in her hand. Somehow, she managed to keep propelling herself up the wall until she was high enough that she was able to wrap part of the chain around the bars in the railing that wrapped around the arena so that she could hang from the wall there, her feet pressed to the wall to hold herself up.

The two creatures below her growled and snapped their jaws at her and she herself just remained hanging from the wall, looking down at them almost as if she were taunting them with her presence.

After almost a minute, she carefully began to release the chain from around the fencing before she wound it once again around her neck but she still held on to the bar with her free hand.

Swiftly withdrawing one of her blades from her sheath, she waited a moment longer and the crowd watched as her eyes followed the Wargs, tracing their movements with her sharp vision. Then, without warning, she let go of the railing and jumped outward slightly, using the leverage she had against the wall to propel herself outward.

As she fell through the air back towards them, she withdrew her other knife and with luck and a bit of skill, she somehow landed herself on the back of one of the furry creatures. Her knives sunk into the hide on his shoulders and the beast cried out loudly in pain.

A roar of excitement washed through the crowd and they cheered down at her.

The other snapped at her and she kicked the one she sat atop of hard in the ribs, causing him to jolt and run from the other. It was just her luck that it had been a trained animal before hand, probably captured with its orc master. She was able to run from the other one for a moment but the Warg beneath her was limping in pain because of her knives. The other one easily caught up and came plowing into his companion in hopes of reaching their prey. The three beings tumbled across the arena as a mass of bodies and fur as he failed to do so.

The crowd grimaced slightly and murmured in worry after watching her get rolled on top of. Having been thrown from the Warg's back, she tumbled out roughly onto the sand but not before closing her eyes and arching her back slightly in pain. That had actually hurt.

Hearing a low throated growl from her right, she knew that their was still a battle to finish so she lay there for a long moment, her fingers digging deeply into the sand as she willed away the pain. Her chest heaved and her brow was furrowed deeply but by some miracle, she sat up, wincing slightly as she went. Clamoring to her feet, she swayed a bit for a moment, her head pounding because of the impact with the arena floor. She sloppily withdrew the long sword from its sheath and bared it against her two foes as she squinted slightly, the flickering torches around her causing her skull to throb even more.

Everyone sat forward in their seats, eager to see the outcome and bloodshed that the battle still promised.

Now with one of the Wargs deeply wounded, the elf was at a slight advantage but she herself was in a bit of pain now as well.

The healthy creature moved to attack her but she instead spun to the side with a growl of exertion, cutting a deep gash into the animal's snout in the process. He too yelped in pain and shrunk back from her slightly, his paw swiping at his nose as if he had just been stung by a wasp.

The other managed to compose himself enough despite the blades still protruding from his back and tried to attack her while her eyes were on his comrade but it only ended up with her blade stabbed up into his brain through the top of his gapping mouth which had since fallen slack in his state of death.

Yanking the weapon free, she ducked just in time as the other wolf snapped at her. Her sapphire eyes were now widened with fear, for her mind and body was slower than usual, her injury causing her to process what was happening at a slower rate.

Spinning away from the both of them, she managed to emerge back onto the open sand of the arena, one Warg dead and the other still in pursuit of her.

This one, the one she had yet to kill, was much larger and faster than the first, she was able to see that. She had to keep ducking out of reach of his jaws or running away from him and the audience could tell that she was starting to tire slightly. The pounding in her skull only increased the longer she fought and with each step she took, she felt herself swaying more.

It finally came up to the point that he was too close to her. With her sharp ears, she could hear the pounding of his feet upon the ground. She could hear his rapidly beating heart. Feel his hot breath on her as he closed in on her.

And just at that moment, her vision blurred and she stumbled to the ground. Feeling a shaky breath leave her lips, she knew that this was the end. The end of the battle or her life? She wasn't sure.

As a last chance effort to save herself, she spied the sword discarded off to the side in the sand and wrapped her hilt around it. Ren only raised the weapon and turned over while gritting her teeth in preparation of what was to come. Her vision cleared just as the Warg lunged at her and then everything went still.

* * *

><p>The crowd gasped and many rose to their feet as the watched the elleth disappear beneath the mass of fur. Thorin himself even rose to his feet, his blue eyes wide after having watched the Warg pounce.<p>

Dain, Fili, and Kili also rose as well and stood at the edge of the balcony beside their king, wanting to see the outcome of the fight.

Borgil himself stared in horror from off to the side, his mouth having fallen open slightly in shock. That was it. He took in a deep breath before letting out a shuddering one. That is the end of your glorious champion.

Perhaps two was too much for her. Perhaps the King had been right. He should have given her a better weapon.

A silence settled over the arena then, all of the dwarves gathered completely in shock of what had just happened.

"REN!" Came a shrill cry from within the tunnel. One of the blonde females came running out into the arena but stopped when all she saw was the body of the Warg and her comrade was nowhere to be seen.

Disappointment swept through Thorin then and he turned away to sit back down in his throne but it was his nephew's voice that stopped him. "Uncle!" Fili called, his own blue eyes wide with amazement and upon taking in his expression, the King returned to his previous place, wondering what had him so awestruck.

The body of the Warg was shifting and then suddenly, a slimy, blood covered hand emerged from beneath the body. It clawed at the sandy flooring in an attempt to pull itself free. Then, with a mighty growl, the limp animal was pushed off her body, revealing a bloodier version of the champion they knew and had come to be rather fond of.

She simply lay on the ground for a moment before she reached out and pulled her equally bloody sword free, which had been protruding from the Warg's chest. Holding it in her shaking hand, she sat up before she clamored to her feet, her chest heaving from exertion.

She was nearly entirely covered in black blood. The sticky liquid covered almost her entire front.

Stretching up to her full height, she shifted her grip on her weapon before she raised those same blazing eyes to look up at the King. Defiance shown so clearly in the blue depths that a disbelieving bark of laughter escaped his lips. For even in her weakened state, she evidently still felt well enough to glare up at him.

Swallowing thickly, Ren simply stood there for a moment, using her sword to steady herself as she stuck it into the ground.

The other elf from said a few words in elvish from across the room and Ren nodded her head in confirmation, her chest still heaving slightly. The other said something again and the champion waved her off, evidently telling her that she was fine for the moment at least.

"Who is that elf?" Thorin asked Borgil who had since begun breathing again. He could relax now that she was alive lest he would have lost his entire show. "The one down there with her now?"

Coming to stand on the other side of Dain, he looked down into the arena. "That's Cel." He pointed at the green-eyed creature. "She's the one we found with Ren when we first captured them."

The dwarf king only nodded his head understanding, his eyes still lingering on the two of them.

"She's enchanting." Kili breathed, only receiving a murmur of agreement from his brother and the Lord of the Ironhills himself. "This... Cel."

"Is that her actual name?" The blond prince inquired.

"We don't know." Borgil replied, watching as Ren then sent the other away with a gentle command that was audible but unintelligible to them. She slowly walked back into the tunnel until she stood beside Iren, shooting the other female looks of worry. "Again, I think they keep their actual names from us. It's the one thing that keeps us from completely owning them."

Taking in a deep breath, she straightened up further and slowly started to walk forward until she was just below the balcony, her sapphire eyes closing for a moment as she steadied herself before she opened them again. Her fierce gaze met Thorin's again and then, just as she had done the previous night, she stabbed her sword down deep into the ground and sunk down onto her knees, showing her submission to both the dwarves and the Slaver.

A slow wave of applause rippled through the crowd, all of them in shock with what had just happened. They had all been certain that she was dead but she had certainly proved them wrong.

Even the rest of the royals began to clap, Fili and Kili exchanging large smiles. Dain himself had a smug smirk upon his face as he slowly clapped for the female champion who still sat below in the sand with her head bowed down to them.

Thorin only stood with his hands on the railing of the balcony before he raised his nose into the air slightly before he let a slow smirk spread across his face.

Then, just like the night before, the same man came out and relieved her of her weapons before shackling her wrists and hooking the chain to the ring. He had to help her up and despite the muzzle, the dwarf lord could tell that she was grimacing in pain slightly, no doubt when she had been slammed into the ground beneath the force of the Wargs. Once upon her feet, she appeared to be fine and together they walked out of the arena and disappeared into the tunnel.

"Why does she wear a muzzle?" The King rumbled slightly, watching how she showed no signs of hostility whatsoever when around this other man.

"Oh, erm..." Borgil stepped forward slightly, his hands clasped behind his back. Both Fili and Kili turned to look between their uncle and the Slaver. The greasy man licked his lips nervously. "She tends to bite."

"She seems to be so docile now, why not take it off?" He asked them, his blue eyes narrowing on the place where she disappeared. "Why not let the people see your champion?"

"My lord king!" The Slaver immediately stepped forward, his eyes widening at his words. The dwarf turned back sharply to face him, wondering why he was objecting to his order. The greasy man shrunk back slightly. "That is very unwise..."

"You dare tell me that I am unwise?" The dark haired dwarf growled in his direction, taking a threatening step forward.

"No! No, my King! It's just that... Well, you must understand. She's very ugly, was burned in a fire when she was younger and she won't fight except when her face is hidden, for she is ashamed of how she looks."

Thorin only looked at him for a moment, glancing over his features to see if he was lying. There was a little bit of unease in his eyes but the dwarf only figured that it was natural, given that he was a Slaver. They were always a bit unsettled.

"Very well." He murmured, turning back to look at the place she disappeared. "Though, I wish to speak with her."

"My lord-" Borgil started.

"She will be in my room in half an hour's time." The King ordered before turning and leaving the balcony, his nephews and guards behind him.

There was little the Slaver could do, not with the dwarf's words being so final. He supposed he would comply as it was anyway. Dain was paying him healthy sums just for these simple performances and perhaps he could earn a little more...

* * *

><p><strong>So, there you go. Second chapter of Gladiator is released. No much happened, sort of a filler but lots to come in the next chapter, promise. <strong>

**Once again, if you have an AU or a One-shot that you would like to see, just leave a review! You can also PM me or message me on tumblr! If you really want to, you can also message me on twitter as well, all using the same username of course! :)**

**Thanks again for reading guys! Only 16 days until I can see BotFA! So excited!**

**Currently working on a Bard/Ren and Legolas/Ren AU as well so stay tuned for that!**

**Love,**

**Blue**


	4. Color Part 1

**You Color My Life: Part 1 **

**(Bard/Ren, Legolas/Ren)**

With a heavy sigh, the man slipped the loop in the rope over the pole on the dock. Reaching back into the barge, he retrieved his bag of supplies before heaving it up onto his shoulder.

It had been a long three days and he was ready to just be home and see his children.

Making his way down the familiar boarded walkways, the man could only faintly smile at the familiarity around him. It had actually been a beautiful day out on the lake with little fog to be seen. The sun shown brightly even then, despite that it was nearly dinner time and it was this thought, and his rumbling stomach, that forced his mind to flicker back to those awaiting his arrival.

As his humble house came into view, he couldn't help but smile ever so slightly once again and the bag upon his back was no longer as heavy as it once was.

Climbing the stairs, he drew open his front door and stepped into the house. To his amazement, it was quiet. A change of what his house normally was.

However, he was suddenly distracted as his nose detected a wonderful smell that was wafting from the kitchen and he found that his curiosity was getting the best of him. Lowering the bag to the floor, he quietly made his way through the small dinning room until he came to the swinging door at the other side of the room.

Lightly pushing it open, he peered inside and found the familiar head of sun kissed blonde hair as she stood beside the counter with her back towards him. Beside her, she had pot of boiling water hanging over the fire place and was cutting a carrot into it. He was surprised that she had yet to notice him.

He did, however, feel a smile tug on his lips when he realized that she was humming quietly as she worked. Moving forward, he was about to try and sneak up on her but even as he took his first step, he knew he was caught.

She turned her head back towards him and it only took half a moment to register that it was the bargeman standing before her. "Hello, Bard." The woman greeted him with a small smile, taking another carrot into her hand off the counter and cutting into it as well.

"If it isn't my favorite housekeeper!" He grinned as well and took a few more steps into the smaller kitchen.

"I'm your _only_ housekeeper." She smiled fully now, her eyes set upon the vegetables before her as she continued to slice. She also momentarily glanced into the pot to make sure that the vegetables weren't turning to mush.

"That is true but we would take no other." He told her, his lips twitching up as he simply watched her a moment. He leaned against the countertop beside her. "The house is sure quiet." He noted after a moment, taking a bite out of a carrot that had been discarded on the countertop. "And there seems to be a lacking of children...?"

"Bain went out and is galavanting with the other boys. I asked Sigrid and Tilda to run to the market before it closes but that was an hour or so ago." She frowned slightly before reaching for the knife and carrot again. "We ran out of potatoes." She prodded at the two small aforementioned vegetables that lay intermixed among the other colorful produce.

It grew quiet then and the bargeman simply watched her work for a moment.

Ren had her tresses pulled back into a simple braid down the center of her back, allowing her pointed ears to be seen. She wore a simple red blouse with her sleeves rolled up so she could cook. She also wore an equally simple, dark brown skirt with an apron tied over the front so as to not ruin her clothes.

"You closed the ward down early today I take it?" He eventually asked her and the female glanced at him, taking note of the carrot in his hand.

"Yes." She murmured, watching as he raised the vegetable to take another bite but she was quicker and took it from him before beginning to cut it up. "Though, I did leave a note that if any emergencies came up, they were to come here."

"And, have you had any visitors?" He asked slowly.

"Three, actually." She replied in a surprisingly gleeful tone. "Littel Reggin had a fever so his mother came to get some herbs. Tom Johnan evidently slipped on the docks and twisted his ankle so I bound his leg and sent him home with some numbing medicine. And Alfrid stopped by to pick up some herbal tea for the Master's gout again."

"Alrfid was here?" Bard frowned, this news causing him to worry.

"Yes. But, I took care of him. He's obviously gone now lest he'd still be here, sitting in the dinning room and eating all our food." She then turned back to her work and gave the carrot in front of her a swift cut of her knife. "He's bloody annoying, I'll tell you that."

"He's got his eye on you." Bard teased her slightly, watching as she wrinkled her nose in disgust. "But that doesn't surprise me. You are after all, the prettiest girl in town."

She just hummed in response, evidently not enjoying that idea. "There are things I'd like to do to that man..." The elf narrowed her eyes and stared out the window before her, ominously shaking her fist with the knife clenched in it. Bard released the breath he realized he hand't been holding and was suddenly very thankful she hadn't lingered on what he had said. "Things that would no doubt get me arrested..."

"You're not usually one to be so violent." He teased her, again feeling relief wash through him when she went back to cutting. "Given you are the town healer after all."

"That infernal man brings out my aggressive side." She growled slightly, picking up the slices of carrot before dumping them into the pot. She brought a potato out onto the cutting board before her. "And it is all your fault."

"My fault?" He chuckled slightly at her remark. "What have I done?"

"He wouldn't stay and chat so long if you were here more often. He's intimidated by you, Bard. That's why when you're home, he rarely visits." She quickly finished with the small parcel and pushed it aside to begin her work on the other one. "But I blame you for shutting down the ward for the afternoon, too." She quirked her brown and glanced sideways at him, the corner of her mouth pulled upward. "The children thought it would be a good idea to make a welcome home dinner for their father..." She sighed dramatically after a moment, as if the task was too great. "But alas, here I am. Slaving away on my own over a hot stove and for what?" The elf glanced over at him, a smile pulling back the corners of her mouth and slight affection shown in her eyes as she chopped away at the vegetable before her. "A silly bargeman who has left his poor housekeeper to take care of his children and his household while he is away exploring the world and galavanting all over the countryside."

"And you know that I appreciate you very much..." Bard murmured, going along with her playful mood. He continued to lean on the counter beside her. "For who else could keep them in line as well as you do?" He beamed when he saw her smile widen slightly. "And besides," He reached out and took one of the smaller carrot slices she had cut and popped it into his mouth, "You are such a wonderful cook, I'm starting to get fat." He rubbed his belly, pooching it out slightly to try and make his point.

Ren only reached out and lightly slapped it with the back of her hand, causing the man to chuckle and drop his facade. "You could use a little fattening up as it is, sir." She jested with him before resuming her work. "You were skinny as a rail when I got here." Again, he chuckled at her words.

She soon picked up the pieces of carrot and discarded them into the boiling water with the other vegetables before she walked over to a cabinet and retrieved another pot. Bard watched as she walked across the room, something so oddly graceful about how she moved.

It was only because she's an elf, he reasoned. They always held a strange, natural grace about them.

She went to their water basin and began to ladle the clean water into it before she heaved it up and placed it over the fire beside the other one. Picking up the cutting board, she walked back over to the pots and dumped in the remaining vegetables.

Returning the cutting board to the counter, she was just about to check on the meat on the small spit below but never got a chance when there was a loud pounding on the front door.

Both Ren and Bard looked at each other for a moment before they moved at the same time.

The man reached the door first and pulled it open, only to be met by a group of about six people, or rather four elves and two of the town guardsmen. In their arms, they held what appeared to be an unconscious male elf.

"Is Ren here?" One of the guards breathed out, wiping some sweat from his brow. "The ward was closed down."

The aforementioned female drew the door back herself, allowing herself to come into view. Her sapphire eyes were wide upon having heard her name and she immediately looked to the injured male before her.

"What happened?" She breathed, scanning the elf over for injuries. He had a bit of blood trickling down his neck from a wound she guessed from the back of his head. He also had a large stain marring one side of his green tunic.

"We were patrolling the lakeshore when we were ambushed by orcs. His side was cut pretty deep during the fight but was knocked over the head with a stone by one of the brutes." One of them, a tall redheaded male explained to her.

"He hasn't woken up since then?"

"No, not yet." One of the other men replied, glancing down at his comrade.

"Bring him in here." She immediately pushed the door open more and stepped back into the dinning room to allow the men more room. Walking over to the long table, she immediately moved the fruit basket in the middle. She picked up a doll that Tilda had left there and placed it in the bowl with the fruit. A pair of pants that she had only just finished mending for Bard was tossed into the aforementioned man's arms. "Put him on the table." She commanded and watched as they carefully lifted the blond up onto the now cleared surface.

Without another word, she placed the bowl down on the rocking chair beside the fire before moving up the staircase. It wasn't a movement later that she returned with a familiar leather satchel clutched in her hands, one that Bard had seen her carry with her whenever she left the house.

Depositing it onto the table, she rolled the sleeves of her blouse up further.

"Bard, can you get me two bowls of water and some towels?" She asked him, moving to the man's head and turning it to the side slightly so that she could look at the wound. Finding that how he was laying wasn't going to help the gash on the back of his head, she looked to his companions. "He needs to be turned over."

Moving without another word, the other elves rolled him over.

"He's losing a lot of blood from both his side and his head." She murmured to herself and reached into her satchel again and retrieved bandages and a roll of gauze. It was at this time that the bargeman returned with the towels. He handed them to her and she took it without even a thank you but the man understood. There was little time for manners when it came to her job.

Not caring about the rag, she pressed the cloth to the back of his head and held it there. For a moment, she raised her eyes up to look to Bard. "Hold this there. Apply pressure." She commanded him as she moved around the corner of the table.

Pressing her hands on either side of his face, she used her thumbs to open one of his eyes to reveal a pale blue eye with an enlarged pupil. Repeating the same process with the other one, she cursed quietly under her breath when she found that this one was smaller compared to the other one.

"Can you help him?" One of his companions asked her, worry evident in his tone after having heard her quietly voiced dismay.

"I'm doing all I can for him right now but there is not much else. We can only wait and hope that he himself pulls through." She told them honestly, a strange glint in her eye that only ever shown when there was an emergency.

Wordlessly pushing his hand out of the way, Bard took a step back and allowed her to continue with her job. Lifting the towel off the wound, she examined the bloody gash, gently prodding at it.

Furrowing her brow softly, she threw open the flap of her satchel and immediately withdrew a handful of vials. Setting them on the tabletop, she then only picked a few of them up and examined them intensely before she popped the tops off them and dumped them into one of the bowls. Mixing them together, she then dropped one of the bundles of cloth into the mixture of herbs. Leaving it for a minute, she looked back at the wound and let out a heavy sigh through her nose.

"Is something wrong?" One of them asked.

"I need to stitch the wound." She murmured quietly, digging back into the contents of her bag. Finding her needle and thread, she immediately raced into the kitchen and dipped them into the boiling water, cursing slightly when it scalded her fingers.

Saving little time for the burning in her fingers, she moved back into the front room.

Approaching the still unconscious man on the table, she lifted the towel off the wound and set it aside. Reaching down into her boot for a moment, she retrieved a knife and cut a section of the thick thread and tied a knot in the end of it.

Swallowing thickly, she internally steeled herself and began her work. She had always hated having to stitch wounds up, it was usually the one problem she had with being a healer. Yet, she still went on with it, knowing that the would would bleed considerably less if closed up.

Behind her, a few of the men shifted uncomfortably and turned away, finding that their stomachs were a bit weak.

It only took a few minutes until she was finished. With the male's blood now coating her hands, she tied the final knot in the stitching and cut the remaining thread off.

Setting down the needle, she retrieved the bundle that had been soaking in the mixed herbs and placed it upon the now closed wound. Taking the long roll of cloth, she began to wind it around his head so that continuous pressure would be applied to the wound.

Tying a final knot in the bandage, she paused a moment to look at her work, satisfied with it for a moment. Wiping the backs of one of her blood covered hands across her sweaty forehead.

"We need to roll him over again." She murmured, her eyes transfixed upon the slice in his side, ignoring the sticky substance on her forehead. "Up onto his side so that the wound is skyward."

The men did as asked and carefully maneuvered their companion so that he was laying as she had directed.

Yanking up the bottom of his tunic, she only looked at the cut for a long moment, frowning slightly as the blood continued to pour out of the wound. Eyes clouding with worry, she lightly grit her teeth, knowing that things could go either way now.

Her patient was awfully cold and pale even now. But, she would still try to save him. Everyone, every life, was worth saving.

"Alright." She said more to herself than the others. Reaching for another one of the clean towels, she pressed it to his side in hopes of slowing the bleeding. "I'll have to stitch this one up as well. It's too deep to just leave it be." She murmured off handedly, remembering that there were in fact others in the room with her. "Hold this down." She commanded Bard who still stood at her side, acting as her temporary assistant.

Steeling herself mentally, she picked up the same needle and thread as before. Moving across the room, she disappeared into the kitchen once again and returned only a beat later, the needle once again sanitized in the boiling water hanging over the fire.

Immediately, she set to work again. Picking up her knife where she left it before, she rolled out another length of thread and cut it before tying a thick knot in the end.

Not hesitating but half a moment, she stuck the needle in and began to stitch the elf's side up.

Grimacing slightly at the sight of the gore and the coppery scent in the air, Bard looked away from the wound and instead looked at Ren. Her brow was furrowed slightly as she worked, her mind entirely focused on the task at hand. Her jaw was clenched tightly and her sharp eyes were alight with a determination, one that Bard had only ever seen before when she was working on other critical patients.

A few minutes later that felt like an eternity had passed as she reached the end of the slice. Tying off the end, she cut the excess tail of the thread and reached for another one of the bandages that was lying in the bowl that held the mixed herbs.

Placing it upon the wound, she pressed it down for a moment before reaching for the long rolls of wrappings that sat beside her healing bag.

Holding one hand upon the wound, she wordlessly began to wind the fabric around his midsection, every moment or so having to stop and raise his side off the table so that she could pass the wrappings completely around him.

Quietly letting out a deep breath through her mouth, she tied the final knot into place, her blood stained hands resting upon the bandage for a moment. Glancing up, she met the eyes of all the men who still remained standing around, waiting for her diagnosis of their comrade.

"I'm optimistic about his recovery but anything can still happen, what with all the blood that he has lost. Some swelling it bound to occur but not so much that it should be damaging. The herbs I soaked the bandage in should deal with that and the pain when he does happen to wake up. For right now though, there is nothing more that I can do except pray to the Valar that he makes it." The men all nodded in understanding but still held solemn looks upon their faces. It was at this time that Ren took note of the bags beneath their eyes and the scrapes and scratches they themselves bore. "I can only imagine that you are all tired as well. Here we don't have much for places to sleep but I have a number of empty beds down in the ward that you can use while your friend recovers."

"We thank you for your services, my lady." One of them murmured, bowing their heads slightly. The female leaned forward and placed her hands flat on the tabletop and looked up at them.

Ren said nothing but nodded her head, accepting their gratitude as gracefully as she could at the moment.

Slowly turning her head to look at the quiet guards who had been waiting in the corner, she met eyes with them. "Can you show them to the ward?" She asked them, knowing that she would need to keep an eye on her current patient.

Nodding their heads in reply, the blonde female felt relief wash through her. Without another word, the entire group left the bargeman's home and quietly closed the door behind them.

It was silent in the house for a minute as Ren stood over the unconscious male, her sapphire eyes staring at his pale face. Feeling a bit of sweat dripping down her nose, she wiped it away, accidentally smearing some of the blood covering her hands onto her face. There was a copious amount of blood also covering the wood of the dinning room table, a puddle of it having gathered around the man's head and abdomen from where it had dripped down his neck and saturated his tunic.

"I need to clean this up before the girls get back." She murmured quietly and the dark haired man watched as her shoulders slumped slightly.

Reaching out, she took the left over bowl of unused, clean water and dipped one of the other rags into it. Dampening it, she began to sop up the left over blood before ringing the cloth out and going to sop up the rest of it.

As she was doing this however, there was an odd smell that filled the air and it seemed as though Bard and her smelt it at the same time. He watched as she glanced over and caught sight of the smoke billowing out of the kitchen.

"Oh, you've got to be joking." She growled quietly, continuing to clean the table. "It wasn't bad enough that we have an unconscious man bleeding on your dinning room table and now the food is burnt."

Sniffling slightly, she let the cloth go for a minute and started to move to the kitchen. However, she felt a hand close around her upper arm but failed to look back at him.

"I'll take care of the food." He murmured to her. After a moment, she slowly nodded her head, her shoulders slumping slightly in defeat as the man one of them a gentle squeeze before brushing by them.

After hearing him disappear into the other room, she slowly walked back across the room and started cleaning once again. When she deemed that the table was as clean as she was going to be for now, she reached for a third bowl that Bard had brought in sometime while she was busy sowing the wound shut. After wringing out the rag, she carefully began to clean the strange elf off.

The back of his tunic was stained, as was his armor. She unhooked the empty quiver from his back and placed it on one of the various chairs beside the table. Also pulling the leather armor over his head, she was careful of his wounds so as to not open them and have the bleeding start all over again. There was little she could do about his tunic so she instead took her knife and cut it off of him, knowing that the blood would begin to stink and she didn't want to have him sleeping in the soiled material.

After doing so, she carefully wiped down his toned chest, making sure that he was clean as she could manage at the moment. Ren glanced up at his face for a moment, taking note of just how pale his cheeks were. But, despite that, she had to admit that he was handsome enough, she supposed. All elves seemed to be that way though, handsome or beautiful compared to the other races.

Shaking those thoughts from her head though, she picked up one of the stray yet still clean towels and folded it before placing it beneath his head to serve as a pillow. He wouldn't be horribly uncomfortable when he woke up.

With the two bowls of red tinted water clutched tightly in her hands, she walked down onto the lower part of the house and dumped the liquid into the toilet where it hopefully wouldn't be discovered by the younger members of the house.

Ascending the stairs, she then walked into the kitchen to check on Bard and found that he was frowning as he scooped some of the vegetables out of the pot and put them into a serving bowl. On the counter, the meat that she had been cooking was a bit blackened and the sight of it caused the woman to frown.

Hearing her sigh heavily through her nose, Bard looked up at her and seeing the disgruntled look upon her dirtied face, caused him to pause and set down the pot.

Wordlessly, he dunked a stray cloth into the water basin and rung it out before walking up to her. She held her hand out to accept the cloth but instead, he carefully took one side of her face into his palm and used the rag to wipe the mess from her face, a mess she hadn't realized was there until that moment.

"I can do that." She protested quietly, reaching her hand up to tug on his wrist.

"We don't have a mirror in this household." He reminded her, continuing to wipe the dried copper marks from her skin.

Glancing down, she looked at the bloody mess that was her hands and decided that she may in fact still be a mess. Even the blouse and apron she wore had red splotches over it but the palms of her hands were mostly clean after having scrubbed the tabletop but the backs of her hands were still scarlet.

"You yourself look worse than your patient does." Bard teased her after a moment of silence, trying to lighten the solemn mood the woman seemed to radiate.

"I need to change before the girls get back." She said quietly, ignoring his words.

He only gave her a small smile before giving one final stroke of the cloth over her nose. "There. Now you don't look so worse for ware." She just glanced off to the side and only gave him a small curl of her lips. Something strange shown in her eyes and after living with her for nearly four years, he knew that something was wrong. "Are you okay?" He asked her quietly, reaching out and placing both his hands upon her shoulders.

"I'm fine..." She murmured quietly, brushing his hands off of her before moving across the room.

"Something is troubling you."

She didn't respond for a long moment, instead choosing to look out the kitchen window. "Orcs along the shore of the lake." She murmured quietly, the gears turning in her mind. The blonde elf looked back to him. "You were only just there a few hours ago." Worry shown brightly in her eyes as she gazed back at the man. "Bard, you were only just there-"

"But I'm here now, aren't I?" He cut her off, allowing his hands to rest upon her upper arms. "We saw no orcs while we were docked in the river." He told her honestly, searching her bright eyes for any inkling that she believed him.

"But they may have seen you." She murmured, a soft frown pulling down her brow. "And you just may not have known."

"I know my way well enough around a bow. I could handle things if it ever came to that."

"A whole orc pack though?" Her voice raised slightly and a hint of anger shown in her irises. At hearing her question, the bargeman only bowed his head ever so slightly, knowing that she was right. "Bard, you have three children here. Young children... who have no other family in Esgaroth. What would happen to them if you didn't return one day?"

He slowly raised his head up to meet her gaze and he sighed quietly through his nose. "You would take them."

At hearing this new spill from his lips, the elleth was a bit taken aback. Her mouth hung ever so slightly and her brow creased as she just gazed back at him, a bit of confusion but realization in her eyes.

"I am not their mother." She breathed when her mind calmed itself down. She gave a few slow shakes of her head at the thought. "I would have no right taking them." Lightly pushing his hands off her shoulders, she brushed by him and moved to exit the kitchen.

"We've known you for a good four years, Ren." The pounding of her boots upon the floor stopped as he finished speaking. Slowly, he turned back to face her, only to find that she instead had her back turned. "Sigrid wants to be a healer now, too. Because of you. I've never once heard Bain complain about you're cooking. And Tilda, well... she loves you. They all love you."

_And I do, too._ He added silently in his mind, a bit of muted pain flooding through his brown irises, silently telling her what he truly meant.

"You are one of the few people that they and myself completely trust in this world."

Allowing her gaze to fall to the floor, she just stood there, thinking hard about his words. At seeing the reluctance that was still evident on her face, the bowman sighed heavily through his nose before taking a few steps towards the elf. He stopped a short distance before her.

"If I promise to be more careful, to be more watchful when we go upstream, will that keep you from worrying?" He asked her, ducking his head slightly in hopes of meeting her gaze. Though, after a moment, he didn't have to given that she raised her head and looked him right in the eye.

"I will always worry about you, Bard." Ren admitted quietly, her eyes almost appearing a bit glassy. That was when the bargeman felt his heart clench painfully in his chest. He hated to see her cry.

For she did not do it often but when she did, he knew that she was aching horribly in side. The first time he had seen her shed tears was when she had been called to deliver a birth but the woman was not due for another few weeks. She had managed to get the child out but he was silent. He didn't cry, he didn't squeal or move.

After consoling the parents, she had returned to the home, barely holding back tears as she sunk to the ground just inside the door. Bard had only heard quiet sobbing from the kitchen and had raced out, thinking it to be Tilda but instead discovered the elven healer in a shaking mess on the floor.

It was almost as if they moved at the same time.

Ren, being slightly shorter had to stretch up slightly but she nonetheless wrapped her arms around his neck. Bard himself snaked his arms tightly around her waist and the two of them held the other against them. They stayed like that for sometime, simply holding the each other.

The bargeman let a quiet sigh escape his nose and he ever so slightly tightened his grip upon her as his eyes slid closed. His head titled to the side and ever so slightly rested upon her own. "I'll be more careful." He whispered to her, his embrace around her still holding true.

After a long moment, Bard released her but did not step away. Instead, one of his hands took hold of her upper arm while the other slowly rose, as if full of uncertainty.

His thumb ever so slightly brushed against her jaw before he gently hooked his forefinger beneath her chin. He ever so slightly tilted her face up towards him.

There eyes met for a moment, a multitude of emotions playing across both their colored pools.

Ren herself couldn't do anything as she gazed up into his softened chocolate eyes which briefly flickered down to look at her lips which she had just so happened to wet just then. Her hands slowly inched up to lightly grip at the fur collar of his coat, her hands having moved subconsciously.

Their breathing mingled for a moment before the man slowly dipped his head, his lips moving closer to her own as his nose brushed along side her own-

The shutting of a door was heard.

Just before his lips covered her own, he froze in place. His eyes, which had since fallen shut, opened to gaze into the lady's own sapphire pair. For in them, he saw a question that he was also pondering.

Hearing the familiar sounds of footsteps, the elleth's eyes suddenly widened and she released her hold upon his coat and took a step back, her cheeks blazing a bright red as she moved out of his embrace.

The swinging door suddenly was pushed open and in trudged Sigrid with Tilda just behind her.

"We got the potatoes..." The older girl begrudgingly murmured, holding up the burlap sack as she looked between the two of them, her face showing just how aggravated she no doubt was. "And we tracked down Bain for you so that we could all eat together."

"Oh, thank you." The blonde replied shakily, stepping forward and taking the bag from the girl who shot her a strange look, taking note that the female looked immensely flustered and still had large blood stains both upon her skin and her clothes.

"Why is there a man lying on the dinning room table?" Bain walked into the room, casually pushing the swinging door open as he went. However, he stopped short when he took notice that Ren herself was covered in scarlet stains. "And why are you covered in blood?!"

"There was an accident inland. A small troop of elves stumbled upon a group of orcs and hunted them down." Ren replied, setting the bag of potatoes down and taking up one of the wooden buckets near the water pump before filling it. She then proceeded to scrub her hands clean of the scarlet blotches. "The man on the table was smashed over the head and I'm keeping him here so that I can keep an eye on him."

"Well, why can't you just keep him in the ward?" The boy complained, jutting a thumb over his shoulder. "He's stinking up the house!"

"He's _unconscious_, not dead, Bain." Sigrid growled at him, crossing her arms over her chest. The younger brother only sent her a dark look and she only wrinkled her nose at him.

"He lost a lot of blood and I need to keep him here under close observation." The blonde elf explained, as she tried her hands on the already stained apron. When she took note of this, she sighed. She would need to get a new one.

"How long before he'll wake up?" Tilda asked her, walking up to the blonde woman until she stood just in front of her.

"I don't know, little one." Ren admitted placing her hand gently atop the child's head, her fingers gently stroking the chocolate strands. "With cases like these, no one is ever sure. We can only wait." Looking down at the little girl, she offered her a small smile which was gladly returned. "Now, I think that it is time for supper." She tapped Tilda on the end of the nose, causing her to giggle.

"Indeed. The food is getting cold!" Bard added, stepping to the side and gesturing to the food. The children stepped forward without hesitation and began to prepare their plates.

The dark haired man only glanced at the elleth and when she felt his gaze upon her, she glanced at him for only a moment before her cheeks turned pink again. He himself only gestured to the food before them, silently telling her to go ahead.

Ren only replied with a shake of her head. "I need to change." She told him quietly, not waiting long for him to answer and instead turned and ducked out of the room, her feet carrying her away from him at a swift pace. He just watched her go, disappointment pooling in his chest as he watched her disappear as the door swung shut.

For the opportunity had presented itself to him and he had missed it.

* * *

><p>The house had since grown quiet as night fell over the land. The only sound to be heard was the crackling of the logs in the fire or the occasional giggle from the small bathroom just down the hall, located at the other end of the house.<p>

Ren was seated in the rocking chair that she had pulled closer to the table. She held a book in her hands and was just sitting in the and reading with a single candle placed upon the table as a source of light.

There was a sudden squeal that came echoing down the hallway and a door was opened.

Turning her head away from the novel, the blonde watched with amusement as a rather damp looking Bard came marching from the room, the rolled up sleeves of his red tunic now significantly darkened due to, no doubt, the bath water. The man himself looked a bit flustered.

"Are you having problems?" She asked with a small smirk on her lips, taking note that most of his hair had fallen out of its tie as well and that his face was dampened itself, with sweat or with water, she didn't know.

Coming to a stop in the dark dinning room, he huffed and brushed a few strands of hair from his face. "Tilda demands that you are the one to give her a bath."

The blonde felt her lips twitch up further and her eyebrow rose slightly in response. "Really?"

"She says that you're better at it. That you, somehow, make it more fun." He himself smiled slightly before glancing back at the still opened door, allowing the candlelight inside to stream out into the darkened hallway. An amused glint entered his eyes. "What have you been doing this past week that I've been gone?"

"Miss Margaret sold me a new type of soap at the market the other day." The elleth replied as she stood up, the book still in her hands. She rolled her eyes as she sauntered over to him. "It makes bigger bubbles all the while producing copious amounts of them. No need to worry though, _Da_." She teased him slightly, a smile upon her face. "You've only just gotten home after your journey. I've got things under control here." She pressed the book against his chest and moved behind him. Placing her hands upon his shoulders, she lightly pushed him forward and guided him to the rocking chair, pressing down upon his shoulders to make him sit. "Now, watch my patient while I take care of Tilda."

Rolling her own sleeves up, she walked down the hall, Bard watching her the entire way.

She had since changed into clean clothes like she had promised him earlier. Since it was growing later in the night, she had changed into a light purple tunic, it's color having been nearly washed out given the number of times it had been worn. A pair of slightly oversized trousers was held around her waist by a simple leather belt.

She disappeared into the room and shut the door behind her but even through the wood, the man could hear the shrill cry of delight that his daughter made.

Sighing through his nose, he glanced down at the book in his hands before his gaze slid to the man lying unconscious upon his table. Ren hadn't left him alone but for only a few moments, for fear that he would wake up or roll off his makeshift bed.

She was a good healer, that was for sure. The best the village had ever had. That wasn't really saying much really though and wasn't an adequate way to compare her skills.

The female elf had saved a number of people, so many so that Bard was almost sure everyone in the village had at least visited her once in the last couple years to be tended to. He himself even had been treated by her, given that he had come down with a powerful cold that had kept him in bed for a week. But, Ren had taken care of him and he had was soon back on his feet.

She had come at the perfect time, too.

Laketown's old healer had seen better days and the woman could hardly tie a knot in a bandage let alone perform surgery as the elleth had done earlier.

And she was kind beyond belief. Never a day went by when she raised her voice at any of her patients. Even in the heat of taking care of an accident, she still managed to keep her voice soft and comforting. But what amazed him the most was the fact that she never charged anyone a single piece of gold. Save for Alfrid when he came knocking on her door for something the Master requested.

To say the least, the villagers respected her work and were always friendly. She had somehow even managed to befriend the Esgaroth guards themselves and that in itself was impressive. It was not everyday you managed to get one of those blokes to smile.

But, there could have been another reason for their smiles and kindness... especially from the men.

Just as she was the greatest healer, she was also the most beautiful woman to have ever walked among the floating houses. He remembered the first day she had arrived and he imagined he never would forget it.

A ship had come in through the toll gate, harboring a few boxes of supplies and a few other traders who had sailed inland to trade with some of the scattered folks.

He himself had only been docking when suddenly, a glimmer of gold had caught his eye in contrast to the bleak colors that seemed to have painted themselves across the entire existence of Laketown. It had been that way since Ingrid had passed.

His whole world muted and grayed, save for the flickers of color he saw in his children. But sometimes, even then it was not enough for him.

When he had turned from his work of knotting his barge to the dock, he had felt whatever color that had been left in the world melted away to dull blacks and whites. Except her.

She shone brighter in his eyes than the sun, the moon, and all the stars combined. Her eyes were the bluest of blues. Her hair was pure sunlight itself. She had a face that even the gods would just jealous of. And with her smile, she took his breath away. She made his knees weak as her eyes briefly flickered over to him, lingering a few moments before turning and moving on down the dock. From that day forth, that very woman changed his life.

And ever since that very day, Bard never again saw the dulled and muted grays that had once spanned his world. For, that was the day that color had returned to his life.

* * *

><p><strong>Alright, so there you have it.<strong>

**There will be a second part to this fic or maybe even a third part to it, given that we have not yet met Legolas (technically speaking) and therefore haven't had time to interact properly. Plus, there will be more Bard/Ren stuff to come as well so don't fret because I feel like they didn't get much fluff time either. **

**Have a few more personal AUs that I want to pump out, partly because of the upcoming Christmas Holiday. I have a really good one that makes me squee a lot. **

**But, again, if you guys wanna see an AU, just submit one in a review or send me a PM!**

**Anyway, if you liked what you read, you can just drop a review if you like. Thanks again to all those who read and favorite my stories. BOtFA is in three days, I'm so excited!**

**You know what to do, read and review!**

**Love,**

**Blue**


	5. Gladiator Ch 3

**Gladiator Ch. 3**

**(Eventual Thorin/Ren)**

A knock at the door caused the King to take a final sip from his goblet before he placed it on the table. Adjusting his tunic, he also glanced in the mirror for a moment, making sure his crown sat straight on his head.

"Enter."

The entrance to his chambers was opened by Dwalin himself who stepped inside but he was quickly followed by the Slaver and, just as anticipated, the female elf.

She paused in the doorway and Dwalin gave her a gentle nudge on her back with his large hand and she moved forward but too slowly for the likes of her Master. The greasy man yanked hard on the chain when he realized that she had slowed.

Stumbling forward slightly, she momentarily shut her eyes in pain but nonetheless followed until she came up to stand just behind him.

Upon seeing the true state of what she was in, Thorin frowned slightly, taking note that she was still covered in the dark Warg's blood. It was thick but had since dried, staining her armor an ugly color and it even went as far as to cover her right eye before staining part of her braided hair.

"You didn't even have time to wash her?" He growled, reaching for his cup of wine and taking another long drink.

"We had to get the others sorted and put away. Then, we had to check to make sure we had all our weapons, so no, my lord, we didn't have time to wash her up." Borgil bowed his head slightly, his eyes shown with a hint of anger though. "And besides, I thought you only wished to _speak_ to her."

"Indeed, I did." He murmured, turning back to look at them. "I simply wished to ask if she was well but I wished to do so without having my chambers smelling like dead dog."

Turning back to look at the Slavemaster, the King took another swig from his cup before looking at his servant who stood quietly off to the side of the room. "Anuon, go get your sisters and have them bring in some buckets of water."

"Yes, your highness." He bowed and immediately turned to leave through the large chamber doors.

He returned a minute later with two other female elves behind him, both brunettes like the male servant. In their hands, they each carried a heavy bucket of water.

"Take her to the bath in the other room." He waved them away and Anuon nodded his head before stepping forward to take hold of the chain.

Borgil sent the servant a glare but nonetheless released the ring at the end of the chain. Murmuring a few quiet words in elvish, he gestured wordlessly to the entrance to the other room.

The fighter looked at him for a long moment before she moved with him, the two other girls just behind them. She allowed her eyes to flicker from Borgil to the King before they disappeared into the alcove where the dwarf lord's personal bath was.

"The interesting thing about water that has come from within the mountain..." Just as he was saying this, there was an audible shocked cry, one that caused Thorin to smirk slightly. "... is that it's freezing cold." A chuckle escaped his lips as he took another sip from his cup. "And evidently they didn't warm it at all."

The four elves returned only a few short moments later, Ren now cleaner than she was before. Her hair was damp and stringy. The black blood had dripped back down and most of it was cleared but there were still dark parts splattering her body. The charcoal had managed to somehow stay around her eyes but was also slightly running.

But what amused the King the most was the fact of how she was shivering so intensely, all the while glaring at him. She looked like a drowned rat to say the least but it nonetheless made his smirk widen, seeing the once mighty gladiator reduced to nothing but a stringy haired slave.

Anuon walked back over and handed the silver ring to the Slaver.

"As I was saying before, I wished to ask if she was well... especially after the last battle." Thorin surmised as he poured more wine into his cup.

"She's fine, better than fine, actually." Borgil spoke up for her then and the female's eyes flashed to him accusingly, a bright hate shinning in her irises again as she stood there shivering. He just smirked and took a step forward so that he could clap the female soundly on the shoulder. "For it seems as though our good old Ren her doesn't feel pain."

"Only the cold evidently." The dwarf lord took another sip from his cup. "And when I said I wished to speak with her, I meant that she would be the one speaking." He growled lowly into his cup as he glared back at the slaver before directly meeting Ren's sharp eyes. "Now, I will ask again and I expect a proper answer... Are you well?"

Borgil turned back and spoke elvish to her to translate but took note that she was glaring at the King, her sapphire irises alight as she looked at him. He gave a harsh yank on her chain to break her line of sight.

She didn't answer and instead kept her eyes on the dwarf. The Slaver barked the words at her again, this time louder before he gave another tug, causing the collar to dig into her skin.

It was then that she answered though it was short-winded and quiet.

Once she was finished, Borgil turned back around and looked at the dwarf lord. "She says that she is fine and she herself wonders if you enjoyed her performance."

Thorin just looked at the man for a long moment, the frown still upon his face but as he allowed his eyes to move back to the female. He gave her an ever so slight quirk of his lips and a small nod.

"Indeed. It was very exciting." Though she could not understand, he spoke as if speaking directly to her. "I find that the way you fight is very enticing to watch." The Slavemaster explained to her what he had said but she did not reply, instead choosing to look at the King instead. It was quiet in the room for a moment just then and the dwarf lord glanced back at the long table in his chambers, remembering what was had been placed there upon his order. "Would you care for something to eat?"

The man murmured to her and she glanced at him, something glinting dangerously in her eyes.

Furrowing her brow softly, she spoke back to him in rapid elvish and, judging by the soft tones from what he had heard before of the language, Thorin believed that the way she spoke now was rather angry. It had been a long phrase as well, longer than a simple 'yes' or 'no'.

The Slaver only turned to look at her for a long moment, a deep frown on his features before he gave another harsh yank on the chain. "She says that she is not hungry, my lord."

Narrowing his eyes on the man slightly, the dwarf felt as though something were amiss with the way that Borgil translated her words.

"Dwalin." He called for the large warrior who stepped forward from his place beside the door. Carefully brushing passed the female, he reached out and took the ring from the Slaver.

Meanwhile, the King shrugged out of his thick mantel and draped it across the back of his chair before striding across the room and removing the crown from his head. He placed it into the special pillowed box that sat upon a vanity near the long mirror.

"Oi!" The man growled and reached for the ring, only to be sent a dangerous glare by the dwarf as he held it out of his reach. The male only gave another quiet noise of protest but with one glare from Dwalin and he was silenced.

"You may go now, Slavemaster." Thorin murmured, shutting the box and turning back to look at the other three. "She will be returned to you shortly but I just wish to... talk to her a little longer."

"Yes, my lord." He murmured, eyeing Dwalin and his champion before he turned and backed out of the room but paused a long moment. "Need I remind you, my lord. She is wild and should not be underestimated so easily. She is not like the other slaves." And with those words, he closed the door behind him.

It was quiet in the room for a long moment after the man left, the large warrior glaring after the greasy man. The dwarf only turned away from the large fireplace where he had been staring into to look at the female who still stood so quietly in the middle of his chambers.

Her eyes, however, had been on him the entire time.

With his cup still in hand, the King slowly made his way around the table until he stood before her. Much to his amazement, he found that she was not as tall as he first imagined and the top of her head was only a few inches above his own.

Holding his hand out, Dwalin placed the silver ring into his lord's palm without a word.

"You do not feel pain, then?" Thorin murmured, partly to himself but it was also partly directed at the female. He gave her a once over, taking note that she was still shivering but she remained resolute even then. "Anuon." He called suddenly, his own personal servant snapping to attention. He stepped away from where he had been by the wall, awaiting his Master's orders after he had taken care of the female. The brunet elf took a few steps forward and had his hands clasped behind his back.

"Yes, your highness?"

"You speak your native tongue, correct?"

"Yes, your highness."

"Would you please translate my words into elvish. For you see, she does not understand the common tongue and I wish to converse with her." The elf only bobbed his head in answer and came closer. "You must speak exactly what she says, even if it is a bit... rude. Do you understand?"

"Yes, your highness."

"Good."

With his goblet still held in one hand and the handle of the chain in the other, he gave a gentle tug on it, one that was not so harsh but was enough to silently ask her to move forward for him.

She resisted for a moment, not sure what was happening but Dwalin intervened.

"Go on, lassie." The large warrior gave her another gentle nudge. She glanced back at him for a moment, uncertainty shinning in her eyes before she did move forward.

Pulling out a chair at the large table, the bigger dwarf motioned for her to sit and she did as she was asked.

"Look at you…" Thorin murmured quietly, mostly to himself as he gazed over her stoic features, the ring of the chain held in his hand as he himself sunk down into his seat. "You are not so wild."

"You think it's just a show?" Dwalin murmured as he stood behind her chair, his arms crossed over his chest. He wanted to stick close to the king, just incase the little elf did try something.

"I don't know anymore…" The other dwarf breathed, taking note of the fire that was still alight in her eyes as she continued to look at him. "Why are you not wild now?" He asked her.

His servant quickly translated his question, looking to the blonde female for an answer. She only sat quietly, having heard the answer but failing to respond to the King.

Looking to his servant, the elf only raised a brow and slightly shrugged his shoulders. "Repeat the question."

Doing as he was told, Anuon spoke in elvish to her again, speaking at a slower rate than he had before. Again, she did not respond and only chose to sit silently in her seat, her cold gaze locked on that of the dwarf before her.

"Not much of a talker, are you?" A snort of amusement came from his nose as he leaned back in his seat. His servant translated anyway, given that that was what he was requested to do.

"That about kills your plan to 'talk to her a little while longer'." Dwalin mocked him, still watching their exchange.

Thorin just smirked up at him from his seat, a teasing glint entering into his pale blue irises. "Is that a hint of sass that I detect, Dwalin?"

"No, _your majesty._" He smirked right back, his tone moving up a few octaves to once again mock. "I wouldn't dare tease the King of Erebor lest I feel his _cruel_ and _unyielding_ wrath." The big dwarf just glanced back at the female, nudging the back of her chair with his elbow. "Oi, speak to your King when he asks you a question."

Even then, she still remained quiet and Thorin was beginning to tire of this little game of silence.

Yanking hard on the ring in his hand, the blonde was dragged from her chair and he continued to pull on the chain hand over hand, forcing her towards him the entire time. He only stopped pulling until she was nearly in his lap, her bounds hands having braced themselves on the cushion between the gap his thighs made.

They were very close to the crest of his trousers and the dwarf was aware of this, for he glanced down and smirked slightly when he looked back up at her.

Again, she just glared up at him with those defiant eyes but they were in fact narrowed slightly, for she was fighting against the collar around her neck, wanting to stay away from the dwarf king.

Simply holding her there, Thorin allowed his eyes to fall away from her own and let them trace along every curve and contour of her body. Despite that she was still covered with a bit of blood, he had to appreciate her form. She was toned and had muscle definition but also looked slightly gaunt, depending on one's own personal opinion, and as she stood above him slightly, he watched as her stomach flexed as she breathed. That was when he noticed something else.

"It's a shame you won't talk to me." He murmured, looking back up into her face and he reached out, allowing his fingers to trace up her arm. Her skin prickled beneath his touch and he swore he felt her shudder but it could just be that she was still shivering from the cold water. "But perhaps another night... Tomorrow in fact?" Anuon translated the King's words, the dwarf waiting the entire time. Again, the female failed to respond. "And, how do I know that you'll be returning then?" He surmised though he didn't expect a reply. Instead, he just reached out with his free hand and placed it upon what appeared to be clean flesh in the lighting but he could tell that a bruise was forming.

He dug his thumb into the darkening flesh and allowed his eyes to flicker back up to her face, wanting to gauge her reaction. She slowly closed her eyes and a quiet but shaky exhale escaped through her nose. Yet, she did not move as if to prove the point that Borgil had stated. The King's grip on her side remained strong and the dwarf just continued to watch her, testing her.

"You took a hard tumble today, little slave." He released the pressure he was putting on the center of the bruise and watched as she released a breathe that she had been holding. Instead, he just lightly ran his rough thumb over the darkening skin. "Which means that you'll no doubt be put on rest for a day or two." As he explained, she allowed her eyes to slowly open again, still filled with that burning hate. "Your Master will readily bring you to me again, pet." He told her, a dark look entering into his eyes as a smirk pulled at his lips. "For I am the one that continues to pay him and he will bring me what and _whom_ I want."

At hearing what Anuon had said, if possible, those hateful irises became only harder.

"So, consider next time who it is you are trying to please. For I feel as though if you speak next time, this will be less painful for you." He sneered, holding the ring up and Dwalin got the silent message. The large dwarf stepped forward and took it from him.

As soon as the chain went slack, the slave moved away from the King.

"Now, go get some rest. I expect another fight from you after your side heals a bit." He told her before allowing his eyes to drift to Dwalin. "Take her back to the Slaver." Thorin waved them away and the warrior led her away, not even having to tug on the chain to get her to move.

It was almost like she _wanted_ to get away from him.

Anuon moved forward and opened the door, allowing the two of them to pass through. The King only watched her go, his head tilted slightly, causing his dark hair to spill over his shoulder.

She was intriguing, he had to admit. A challenge that he would very much enjoy solving. The little slave had walls built up around her, strong walls that it seemed as though only pain could break through.

Thorin wasn't entirely sure how he would do it but he knew that he would enjoy breaking her and those walls.

* * *

><p>And just as he predicted, she was brought to his chambers again, Dwalin having brought her in due to the fact that Borgil had refused the request. That was when the King insisted.<p>

She was dressed in the same clothes as before; the leather breastplate, trousers, and strange ripped skirt. She had also been washed, he noticed, and her skin was clear of the dark substance from her previous fight.

Ren had not fought on that night with the rest of her comrades for the Slaver was a smart one and saw her side after her washing. So, he had decided to give her a night to rest yet here she was, standing before the dwarf lord again.

Dwalin hadn't even knocked as he entered into the room, instead choosing to push open the larger doors.

The slave followed right behind him and as they entered into the chamber, she found that it was lighter than last time, the candles in the wrought-iron chandelier above having been lit.

Multiple voices could be heard in the room and as she peered around the large warrior, she found that the King was not alone. Instead, he was accompanied an older dwarf with snow white hair and two younger ones, a blond and a brunet who's hair matched the shade of the leader of Erebor.

As they walked further into the room, the chain around her neck jangled and all heads turned in their direction.

She found that her eyes moved to the dwarf lord first who stared back at her with almost a smug look on his face. Then her eyes flickered to the two younger dwarves who had since grown quiet and were watching her intently.

"Here you are, the little fighter, like you asked." Dwalin murmured as he stopped just before the dark haired dwarf and held the silver ring out.

Thorin took it with a nod of his head and put the parchment he had in his hand down on the long table beside him. The two younger dwarves just continued to stare at her, a nervous glint in their eyes.

"So..." Balin murmured, eyeing her as well. "This is Ren."

"The Not-So-Mighty Champion." The dwarf lord murmured with a smirk on his lips, pulling her closer with the chain so that they could properly see her. "Pretty tame when she doesn't have a weapon in her hand." He looked her up and down, taking note of her clothes. "Though she's wearing the same clothes as the night before. You'd think that they'd have the courtesy to have her change when meeting with the King."

"It's so strange..." Kili murmured, taking a step toward her. "To see her up close like this."

"Careful, Kili." His blond brother commanded, grabbing his sibling by his bicep to keep him back. "She's a slave and a fighter. You know what she's capable of."

"Yeah but I mean... She doesn't look like she would hurt us now." He surmised, taking another step forward until he was standing right in front of her. He just looked at her for a long moment before he gave her a slight quirk of his lips, his dark eyes shinning with innocence as well as curiosity.

And the younger prince swore he saw that hardness in her eyes lessen for a half a moment as she looked back at him before it returned immediately.

He suddenly got an idea and he scrunched up his face for a moment, digging into the very recesses of his memory. "_Hello_." The younger dwarf said and much to his surprise, one of her brows suddenly twitched in interest. "_My name is Kili_." The hatred lessened once again and feeling his nervousness dissipate, he slowly extended his hand towards her.

"_I am Ren._" She replied quietly, causing all the dwarves' mouthes to fall open in shock. Kili just glanced back at the others, a wide, disbelieving grin on his face. She looked down at the hand extended towards her before reaching both her hands towards him, given that they were shackled. The slave only got halfway before the dark haired dwarf took her hand into his own.

He was still grinning like mad before he released her hand.

"I didn't know you spoke elvish, Kili." Thorin mused, taking a step forward so that he stood beside his nephew.

"Only a few words. Just what little Haldir has taught me." The King watched her as the younger dwarf spoke. He swore he saw a strange spark in her eyes for a moment before the same hardness was replaced.

"Can you go get him?" He asked, causing the prince to look at him.

"Why?"

"So that he can translate for us."

"Can't Anuon do it?"

"He's busy running errands for me. He won't be back until later."

"Very well. I'll see if I can find him." Kili murmured before turning to leave the large chambers out the doors. The dwarvish prince returned a few minutes later and as he opened the door, a tall blond elf stepped in behind him.

Ren felt her eyes widen with disbelief.

"I found him!" The dwarf replied with a huge grin on his face as he sauntered back into the room.

"Greetings, my lords." The slave bowed to the King and his blond nephew. "I understand that you need me to speak with another one of my kind?"

"Yes, she doesn't speak the Common Tongue." He gestured to the lone lady in the room and it was for long moment that the elf just stared at her, his cheeks paling slightly. But, he suddenly remembered his place so he clenched his jaw and straightened his back out.

"Indeed, your highness?" Haldir asked quietly, his eyes flickering between the King and the slave. He took note of all the restraints upon her person, as well as the leather armor she wore. "Ah... So, she's one of the gladiators you've been hosting?"

"Their champion, actually." Thorin replied, pulling lightly on her chain so that the moved back to the dinning table so that they could sit again like they had the night before. "I trust that your side is feeling better?" The room was quiet for a moment and the dwarf turned back to look at the male elf who failed to translate but then understood the message.

"I apologize, my lord." He bowed his head before translating the words he had already spoken.

For a long moment, the female failed to respond just as she had done the previous night. But then Haldir spoke to her again, nudging her with his elbow before murmuring something else, his eyes narrowing slightly before he jerked his head in the direction of the dwarves watching them.

The she-elf only looked back at him for a moment as she spoke to him, her brow furrowing deeply as she did so. She spoke rapidly and the male elf replied back just as quickly as she had before he sent a harsh glare her way, causing all four dwarves present to look between them with curiosity.

"What did she say?" Thorin asked finally, breaking their rapid banter.

Haldir just froze for a moment before looking back to her. "She said that after resting it, she does indeed feel a bit better though it is a bit achy even now."

"It's a shame to hear that... You will still be fighting tomorrow night, though, yes?"

The male elf finished with the phrase before looking back at her. Ren looked at him for a long moment before muttering only a few words. "She said, 'Yes, I suppose so'."

"Very good. The shows aren't nearly as entertaining without you at the reins." Again, the slave translated, causing the female to scowl at the ground, an almost sarcastic look entering into her eyes.

She then spoke in elvish, the words unintelligible to the other members of the room. Haldir just looked at her for a long moment before he reached out and smacked her upside the head, causing the female to jump slightly but she nonetheless sat quiet.

"What did she say?" Thorin was smiling now, finding their interaction to be immensely amusing.

"Just a bunch of rubbish. I don't think you want to hear it, my lord." He glanced sideways at the elleth, his nose wrinkling slightly in annoyance. "I think her brain still may be a little mixed after the fall she took last night."

At hearing what the servant had to say, the dwarf lord watched her for a moment and felt his lips curl up slightly as he watched her give a hard glare to the elf at her side.

"Do you think she could just be daft?"

"It is possible, my lord, but I truly only think that she is just very stubborn. Perhaps it would be best to just not bother with this old, hard-headed one."

"No, the headstrong ones are the most fun." The King interjected as he relaxed back in his chair, the grin still upon his face. "The most challenging and... entertaining if you will. At least she is speaking this time though, last night she didn't mutter a single word." He had been looking at her the entire time, his eyes narrowing when she began to glare at him. "But, tell me, little slave. Does your Master ever sell any of his slaves?"

Haldir translated and the she-elf didn't reply, instead choosing to narrow her own eyes at the question.

"I'd ask Dain, Uncle." Fili suddenly interjected, stepping forward when he saw that the two of them were having what appeared to be a glare-off. "He seems to be in deep with the Slaver, I only imagine he'd know."

The dwarf lord only hummed in response, stroking his beard in thought. "Will all of you excuse us please? I wish to speak with her privately. Haldir, you may stay."

"But-" Kili began but was cut short.

"It's getting late as it is." The blond brother clapped his sibling on the shoulder, not wanting to anger their uncle. "We should probably turn in for the night. We have a lot of work to do tomorrow."

The younger dwarf sighed, his shoulders slumping. "You're right. I have to go inspect the armory tomorrow and the Gods only know how long that will take." The two younger dwarves moved to the grand doors.

"Goodnight, Uncle." They replied in unison.

"Goodnight, nephews." The King replied with a softened smile upon his face. "Sleep well." The door closed behind them and it was quiet for a long moment before Balin himself sighed.

"Aye. The lads are right, the hour is growing late." The white haired dwarf pushed off the table where he had been leaning and shuffled to the entrance. When he got the door open, he paused to turn back and look at his friend. "I'll see you in the morning, Thorin."

The dwarf lord only nodded his head and gave him a small wave before he too was gone. Turning his head, he looked to Dwalin who had been silent nearly the entire time he had been there.

"What?" He grumbled slightly. "You want me to leave, too?"

"You will need to return her to the Slaver after I'm done with her." The King murmured and his companion only nodded his head in understanding before crossing his thick arms over his chest. Turning back to the female before him, he smirked slightly, allowing the silver ring to rest upon his knee while his hands steepled together before him. "So... _Ren_." He said her name, one his brows raising in interest. "Are you actually going to speak to me tonight or must we have a repeat of our last encounter?"

"Why would I wish to speak_.._." She began and Haldir translated for her, trying his best to listen to what she had to say while talking. However, the next half of her sentence was spoken in harsher tones and she leaned forward in her seat, the blaze in her eyes roaring to life once more.

Both the dwarves were a bit taken aback by her sudden outburst but no one was so startled as the elven servant was. His cheeks only paled as he looked between her and the king.

"What did she say?" Thorin asked, another smirk pulling at his lips as he took in the horrified look upon the brunet's face.

"My lord, I don't think-"

"Go ahead and say what she said. You will not be accountable if she says something rude, I promise you."

"Very well..." He cleared his throat before swallowing nervously. Thorin looked back to Ren, meeting her fiery gaze and imagining that the words were spoken by her own lips. "She said, 'Why would I wish to speak to the moron of a tyrant who is the very reason why I am here in chains and shackles.'"

Dwalin couldn't help but chuckle loudly upon hearing what she had to say. The King himself felt an amused smirk pull at his lips though he managed to remain more composed then his old friend behind her. But, he felt pride swell in his chest to know that she was at least speaking to him.

"Oh, she's a spitfire, this one!" The large warrior continued to chuckle as he gripped the back of her chair. Haldir just stood nervously off to the side.

"I would imagine so, what with the glares that I'm always on the receiving end of." He leaned back in his seat once again, just looking at her. "This could turn out to be more exciting than expected."

"Perhaps it is also not an act after all." Dwalin mused, finally sobering enough. He placed his large hand on the back of her chair, eager to hear more of the rude and vile things she had to say to the dwarf lord. "Perhaps the Slaver was telling the truth about the muzzle as well..."

"What have I done to anger you?" Thorin asked her, ignoring his friend's little jest. "I'm curious as to what I've done to cause you to hate me so...?"

"Do not think so highly of yourself that my hate is saved only for you." The large dwarf behind her snorted again at the insult but otherwise remained quiet as the male elf continued to translate. "I despise all the men, dwarves, orcs, and goblins in the world. In my eyes, you are all not worth my time or effort."

"And yet..." He gave her a crooked smile, twisting slightly so that he leaned more heavily upon his left elbow. "Here you are."

"I obviously am not here because I want to be." She growled quietly, her fists clenching in her lap. "If it were my own choice, I would be walking free instead of sitting here before you with a collar and chain around my throat. It is because I am forced to be here." Rolling her blue eyes, she crossed one leg over another and a sigh came from her nose. "Again, don't think yourself so lucky to have me performing for you."

"I would instead think that you are the one who is lucky to perform for me." The King just gave a small turn of his head as he smirked. "If it weren't for Dain, you would still be performing for a handful of drunken men and starving more than you already are. If that's anything to go by how gaunt you are..." He nodded at her stomach, lazily gesturing at her and he took note that the bruise on her side was now green and yellow. "Your ribs are sticking out." She said nothing, instead choosing to glare at him. "But, by the way your Master and his men dress, I would say that there is plenty of gold to be shared. Plus, those knives you use are worth more than a pretty penny yet he can't have a sword sharpened-"

"You think they bought those elven knives?." She spoke and Haldir quickly translated, interrupting the King who just stopped and looked at her for a long moment, a dangerous glint entering into his eyes. Then, without warning, he yanked hard on the chain he still lazily held in his hand.

This jerked the female forward and Thorin picked up on the slack between them and also leaned forward so that there were only a few inches between their noses. He allowed his eyes to briefly flicker across what was left uncovered of her face.

"It would be in your favor to not interrupt your King." He growled lowly, tilting his head to the side.

"You are not _my_ _Master_." She spat at him, her eyes like blue flames as they glared back at him. She pulled back slightly on the collar yet the dwarf's grip remained the same. "You are not _my_ _King_."

_Smack._

The sound moved quickly through the once quiet room as her head snapped sharply to the side. She would have fallen from her chair if it wasn't for the arms on the sides to steady her.

There was a sharp sting that burned against her cheek and her eye began to water slightly. Her face remained mostly blank, save for her nose wrinkling and her brow creasing deeply. And yet, she did not show him pain.

After a moment, however, the bite on her flesh dulled and she was able to open her right eye, the one left undamaged.

"It would be in your favor to learn your proper place, slave." He growled, lowering his hand after having backhanded her. Flexing his own hand out, he had to admit that it had hurt him slightly but for a moment, he was silently admiring her luck. For the jeweled ring upon his hand would have surely torn open her cheek if it weren't for the leather muzzle. "Being a gladiator champion has given you the mindset that you are above us." He reached out and cupped her chin, turning her back to fully face him. "What if I told your Master about your disobedience?"

Haldir slowly translated the words for the King, not liking how he was speaking to the female elf and how he was treating her. He did not enjoy what was taking place before him.

Gazing at the dwarf for a long moment, the elf slowly closed her eyes and lowered her head in what Thorin only assumed was defeat.

"You would be punished, wouldn't you?" He rumbled, his temper still flaring. "No doubt have your food taken away and water dumped onto the ground before you. And it would be days before you had a chance to eat again." He narrowed his eyes slightly, having bared witness to a couple happenings when slaves had misbehaved. He had only ever seen it, for he had never had to punish his own slaves and even if they did, on one odd occurrence, act out, he would only verbally chastise them. He never physically depraved them or harmed them. "Even a few beatings, I would imagine. No doubt by the end of the night you would be wishing you were dead. So, will you actually behave or shall I report this defiance to your Master?"

It was quiet in the room for a long beat, the female still having her head bowed. Her eyes, however, were half idled and out of focus as she sat slumped slightly in her chair.

"But... I am a kind, generous King... and I will not tell him." As he said this and Haldir translated it, Ren slowly looked up at him. "And I would not see one of my prospective slaves starve." And yet, the hopeful glint in her eye disappeared. This still caused Thorin to smile slightly. "That's right, pet. If you continued to impress me and my nephews, you may permanently live within Erebor and serve your King."

She only lowered her head, a deeply concerned, if not thoughtful look in her eyes.

"Alright, Dwalin. You may take her back." The King held the silver ring out and the larger warrior stepped forward and took it from him. The female slowly rose from her seat and wordlessly followed behind the other male. "I look forward to our next talk, little one." Haldir muttered these words and when they reached the door, she glanced back at the King.

There was a strange furrow in her brow but then, she gave a slow, small nod of her head. The door shut behind her and Dwalin.

"You may return to attending to Kili." The dwarf told the blond elf who only nodded his head and left swiftly. Worry was evident in his eyes and yet the dwarf lord did not see it.

For he was too busy smirking as he shifted in his grand seat, his mind only consumed with the next chance he would get to see her. Yes, next time most definitely would be an interesting one and would change the way that he viewed the fiery warrior.

* * *

><p><strong>Hey guys.<strong>

**Been waiting awhile to put this one out! Had it mostly done a couple days ago but just finished editing. **

**Saw BOTFA last night and I kinda wanted to publish this in hopes of taking my mind of the pain that has permanently grated down part of my soul. Didn't get much sleep last night and when I would wake up, I would remember the movie and the pain would be renewed.**

**Anyway, I thought it was brilliant. If you haven't seen it yet, go do it. Just be prepared for immense feels and take a lot of tissues. **

**Don't know when I'm going to be able to update To Your Mark, given that I have to wait a while for the movie to come out on DVD or on iTunes so that I can get my plot down exactly like I want it. **

**I can't wait though and I have parts already plotted out. Other parts... are more blurry. Probably with my own tears. **

**But, I'm gonna let you guys go now.**

**Leave a review if you have an AU you want to see. I've got a couple more that I need to get done, including the second part of the Bard/Ren AU. I also had someone else review and they said they wanted to see Ren interacting with Quwen from my Lord of the Rings story (Don't read it, it sucks and I'm in the process of rewriting). **

**Since I have also done a lot of editing of my earlier chapters of TYM, I did add Quwen in there. She was in fact, Fili's love interest and Ren did watch over her for the time that they were together. But, if you would like more of them together, just say so.**

**Anyway, gotta go guys but I hope you enjoyed! You know what to do! Read and review!**

**Love,**

**Blue**


	6. Gladiator Ch 4

**Gladiator Ch. 4**

**(Eventual Thorin/Ren)**

Lowering the crown onto his head, the dwarf looked over himself once in the mirror, adjusting his grandfather's heavy fur cloak before he deemed himself fit to leave his chambers.

Exiting through the heavy doors, he made his way down the long hall, his feet carrying him there naturally due to the number of times he had walked down to The Pit in the last week and a half.

He had no guard escorts that night which was a bit odd but wasn't unheard of. Everyone was busy trying to find a place in the arena sitting, due to the fact that there had been a rumor that the champion was going to be back that night, given that all were disappointed when she failed to show the night previous.

But, as the opening ceremony started as it did every night, he took his seat between Dain and his nephews who had been chattering away uncontrollably.

The King took note of this and couldn't the small curl of his lips. Since the arrival of Borgil and his fighters, the two younger dwarves had been in better moods, he noticed. That they would anxiously await the next fight all throughout the day.

He had to admit that he also looked forward to the fights or, maybe it was what came after that he anticipated so much.

A small frown pulled his brows down, however, as he watched the slaves file out into the arena. Ren was not among them and he wondered why she was once again not fighting but he only had to wonder a minute longer before she came walking out of the tunnel, the very last one to be released.

She was once again dressed in the same clothes as he had always seen her wear. On her back, however, he noticed that in addition to the normal sheathed knives, a quiver was strapped to her back and was packed full of arrows.

In her hands, she also carried a bow, one of eloquent design and obviously of elvish make. This peaked Kili's interest immediately and he nudged his brother's elbow with his own. When he caught the blond's attention, he nodded to the female and Fili just smiled knowingly.

There was what sounded like an almost feral snarl that came from the other side of Dain and all heads turned toward the Slaver who appeared to nearly be bristling in anger.

"Is something wrong, Slavemaster?" Thorin called to him, causing the greasy haired man's head to snap in his direction.

At seeing that he was being intently watched by the King and the rest of the royal bloodline, he straightened out his back and cleared his throat. "No, my lord." He replied but he nonetheless gestured down to his fighters. "Though, I do not recall stating that it was okay to give my champion a bow."

"I find it appropriate..." The dark haired dwarf murmured, his eyes flickering back to the aforementioned female. "Elves were the first to completely master the sport of archery. When, I talked to one of your men this morning, he said that you carried a bow with you but it was mostly just used to intimidate bandits when on the road." He rubbed his chin in thought and narrowed his eyes. "Though, he did mention that it was of elvish make..."

The man just gave a small, nervous laugh. "Yeah, snagged it off Ren in fact when we first caught her. High quality work, I tell ya."

"Then why do you protest of her using her own weapon?"

"I have no protests about letting her use her old bow, sire. It's just that..." He bit his lip and scratched his head as he searched for a plausible reason as to why he was disgruntled. Then, it suddenly struck him. "I'm worried for your own safety, my lord king."

"My safety?" The dwarf raised a brow.

"If you know anything about elves and archery, I doubt you need a good explanation as to why." Borgil frowned slightly and looked back into The Pit, finding that Ren was glaring up at him, the bow still in her hand. He took a small step back, just as a precaution.

Looking back down into arena, Thorin couldn't help but meet her eyes for a long moment, his fingers absentmindedly running through his beard as the memories of the night before pulsed through his mind.

_It was late, later than he even realized. And yet, he did not feel the least bit tired._

_So, naturally, he decided to go for a walk, seeing how this had become a habit of his since he had taken over the throne over a year ago. With all the kingly duties weighing on his mind, he found that a stroll through his halls during the later hours of the night did wonders for his mind._

_The mountain was always so quiet._

_There would be a few people still working. Blacksmiths were sometimes hammering away on their work late into the night to fill orders. Young babes would sometimes cry in the night, as is the nature of newborns. There would be the occasional guard milling about on duty, patrolling the caverns to ensure the safety of his people._

_But, compared to the normal loud buzzing that occurred during the day, it almost felt like silence to him._

_There was what sounded like a voice shouting loudly and due to the quiet that filled the mountain, it was easy to hear and determine where it was coming from. Turning his head in the direction of the shouting, he only frowned softly before he began to walk in that direction, wondering why this sudden disturbance in his mountain at such a late hour._

_Before long, he realized that he was headed in the direction of the arena and he continued to follow the nearly endless scolding until he arrived down in among the hidden cells where they kept the contenders in the fights._

_There was a sudden shifting in the room and he watched as Borgil suddenly shoved someone forward, spewing what sounded like angry elvish the entire time. That someone stumbled and was only able to brace their hands upon one of the many cells, causing those inside to shift nervously as they huddled in a corner together._

_The Slaver pressed right up behind them, taking a hold of their hair before growling something lowly into their ear._

_It was hard to see who exactly it was in the dim light cast by the torches upon the wall but the King didn't doubt that it was probably Ren given that he recognized the worn boots upon her feet._

_It was then that she replied back, a strain in her voice but after a moment, the man released her hair._

_Stepping back, he shoved her towards one the last empty cell and she slowly walked into it, the Slaver right behind her. Once inside, he picked up another chain from the floor and fastened the shackles around her ankles, effectively anchoring her to the wall of the dungeon. He then threw in a worn blanket after her as well as a burlap sack before he slammed the cell door shut, locking it with a ring of keys he had withdrawn from his pocket._

_From what the King could see, the slave just continued to stand inside the cell for a moment, watching as Borgil left the holding cells for the night so that he could return to his own comfy room at the local inn._

_After making sure that he was gone, Ren reached down and picked up the blanket before glancing at the others in the cell just beside her own. Wordlessly, she approached them but couldn't given the shackles around her ankles. Frowning slightly, she reached out as far as she could and one of the others reached back, allowing them to pass the worn fabric through the bars and one of the others took it from her, murmuring some quiet words._

_The blonde just nodded before opening the bag and peering inside. She retrieved a clump of cheese, a small portion of a loaf of bread, an apple, and a small water skin._

_"Cel?" The champion called out, filling the silence of the room for a moment. The other blonde turned back from where she had been settling the blanket over the top of the other two slaves sharing her cell. When she was facing her, Ren tossed the entire bag to her, contents and all._

_The two of them conversed quietly for a moment before the blue eyed creature shook her head and sat down upon the cold ground. She then lay down and curled up in the center of her cell in hopes of finding some sleep._

_The King simply stood there in the darkness for a few long moments and when all else grew quiet in the mountain again, he clasped his hands behind his back and stepped further into the dimly lit room._

_Those who had once been awake had since quieted down and were once again asleep._

_He kept walking along, momentarily stopping to gaze into the cells. Each and everyone of them had a group of slaves in it, some males, some females, and sometimes a mix of both. They each appeared to have been given one blanket, two if there were four in the cell._

_Then, he came upon the last two cells._

_There were three females placed into the one cell and beside them in the adjacent cell was Ren, asleep on the cold floor, curled into a ball in hopes of keeping herself warm. And yet, the other three in the cell were huddled together beneath their blanket and the one that the champion had given them. Peering into the cell, he realized that one of them was Cel, Borgil's second best fighter who had been captured with Ren. She had her back against the wall and slept, serving as a pillow for the other two females to lean on, one of them blonde and the other had hair as black as night._

_He then came to stand before Ren's own cell and gazed down upon her, a soft frown pulling at his features._

_She had her knees pulled up to her chest and her arm tucked beneath her head to serve as her own pillow, the other placed underneath her cheek. But, strangely enough, it was her face that captured his attention._

_The usual crease in her brow from all her glaring was completely gone, the wonders of sleep seeming to have accomplished that mighty feat alone. She looked so at peace then, even just by sleeping on a cold, hard floor in a musty dungeon. And somehow, she managed it._

_For a moment, the King felt something strange bubbling in his chest, this warm feeling that made him want to drape his long robe over the top of her. But only a moment later, it was gone._

She is a slave. _He reminded himself, clasping his hands behind his back. _She is a slave and not my own. Showing kindness would be inappropriate.

_And with those thoughts, he turned to leave but not before sparring one last long look at her peaceful features. Striding quietly out of the room, he began to make his way back to his room, his mind clouded with thoughts of her even then._

She is not my own._ He reminded himself again, shaking the thoughts out of his mind._

_When he once again found himself in his chambers, he stood beside the fire for a long moment and he decided that he should at least try to sleep, given that he had many duties to do in the morning that he couldn't ignore. However, as he was shrugging out of his heavy mantle, he paused for a long moment and simply glanced back to the door._

But what if you made her your own?_ A quiet voice whispered in the back of his head, causing his mind to linger on the subject longer than necessary._

_And in that moment, he decided that he would actually inquire about the blonde slave._

It was the grinding of chains that brought his mind back to the present and he watched as the orcs and goblins were released into the arena. His eyes shot to the female that had recently been occupying his thoughts and watched as quick as a whip, she notched an arrow and already one of the beasts fell, the projectile buried in his forehead.

The others rushed forward to begin the attack, save for Ren and one other she-elf who had pitch black hair, the very same he saw in the cell beside the blonde's the night before. The champion forced the other one behind her, making sure to keep her between the wall and the warrior herself.

The dark haired elleth didn't protest in the slightest and instead, her green eyes were wide with fear as she clutched desperately at the short sword in her hand.

Without warning, the other door on the other side of the arena, which was rarely used, was yanked open and even more foul creatures came spilling out.

When she heard this, the blonde champion's eyes widened in fear and she turned back to the others, barking orders as she went. Again, forcing the female behind her, Ren immediately turned and began to fire upon the new attackers.

It wasn't enough though and they soon were overpowered. This forced the the blonde to drop her bow and instead unsheathe her twin daggers before she dove into the mass of enemies.

She moved quickly, he noticed and her blue eyes were wide. She seemed to have different intentions on that night, it was clear to see. The kills were sloppy, unclean. Most of the creatures she attacked were merely maimed and left to choke on their own blood or bleed out on the arena floor.

It was almost like she was just trying to get the job done and had little time to worry about mercy.

"Slavemaster..." The King called as he continued to watch her, recalling his thoughts from the night before.

"Yes, my lord?" He moved from his place beside Dain to stand just behind the dwarf lord's tall chair, his own eyes upon the fight as he watched each of his warriors, making sure that they were fine.

"What kind of slaving do you do?"

The greasy man just frowned slightly, not understanding the question. "Excuse me?"

"I'm talking about selling and trading." Thorin explained further, his eyes still on the fight as he rested his cheek against his fist which rested on the arm of his chair. "Obviously, you run a gladiatorial circuit but, what else do you do with them?"

"Um..." The man thought for a long moment. "Sometimes I trade with other slavers, you know, just the young ones. I keep my good fighters like Ren and Cel, wouldn't really trade them unless they got badly maimed." The dwarf nodded in understanding. "Not to be rude, my lord king, but... Why are you asking about my slaves?"

"Do you have any... pleasure slaves?" He inquired slowly. "Body slaves?"

It was quiet for a moment before the thought finished processing in the man's head and he chuckled darkly. "Oh, my lord!" Dain just turned back in his seat to gaze at him, sending a pointed look his way. "For a price..." The greasy man murmured as he folded his arms across his chest before licking his lips. "For a price, any of them can be turned into pleasure slaves." He then rubbed his hands together, looking more pleased than he normally should have. "Male... female. You can have one of each. Two of one kind. Anything you like!"

At his words, Fili and Kili just turned to look at him, having listened to their conversation thus far but hadn't said anything. Was their Uncle… truly asking about this?

"Tell you what..." He placed his hand on Thorin's shoulder. "Since you're the King, I will give you a special deal. You buy one slave for the night, you get the other one half off." The dark haired dwarf showed little interest in this offer so Borgil just patted his shoulder again. "So, my lord, who would you like?"

"I want Ren."

"_Ren_?" The man squeaked, his brows raising until they were nearly in his hairline.

"I didn't stutter." Thorin growled, his thumb running over his lip as he watched the aforementioned fighter as she stabbed both her knives into an orc's chest before kicking him off the blades.

"Um... My lord, Ren... is _not_ a pleasure slave." He tried, giving the dwarf lord a nervous smile.

"You only just said that any of them can be turned into a pleasure slave..." The King just turned his head, his eyes holding a dangerous glint in them as he looked at the Slaver. "...for the right price." The man just froze beneath his harsh gaze but then relaxed as the the dwarf gave him a small smirk. "Besides, why are you protesting? Is it simply the fact that she... cannot…"

"I didn't want to mention it, my lord." The Slaver began, his thumbs twiddling as he held his hands before him.

"Mention what?" He narrowed his icy eyes on the man. He sat forward in his chair slightly and this even drew the attention of the rest of the royals present. Even Dwalin, who had been standing silently off to the side to guard his king felt his interest peak.

"The last man she was supposed to be with... she nearly killed him in the bedroom."

Kili just raised an eyebrow in disbelief and felt his lips curled upward at the thought that he was implying. "She's that good?" He sat forward in his chair, his hands tightly grasping the arms. "Because if she's that good, Uncle, I think you should _share_-"

"No!" Borgil growled slightly. "She literally beat him to the brink of death!"

Thorin just turned back around in his seat as if he hadn't heard the man's words, for he believed the Slaver to be lying. And yet, as he watched her from up above, something in the back of his mind whispered that she actually had.

"That didn't really happen..." Fili murmured, rolling his eyes before facing forward in his seat.

"I would not lie to you, my lords. Especially about something like that. It was a miracle that we were able to save him, poor bloke. She's a nasty one..." He turned back to look down into The Pit, watching Ren once again. "Haven't sold her to anyone since."

"And who exactly was this man?" The King asked once again, his brow raising in interest.

"Just some old rich buggar. We had just finished a show and he asked for her and then she went berserk. Wasn't five minutes later that we heard shouting and rushed into the room to find him beaten to a bloody pulp with my little champion scrambling out the window."

"What she did does not matter. For I still want her company, if only for the night." He raised a brow and looked at the Slaver again who slowly nodded his head, not wanting to deny the dwarf lord what he desired.

"Um… Very well. Now, all that's left to do is just figure out a-"

A high pitched cry suddenly resonated up from The Pit, cutting Borgil short. His head snapped back up to the fight and he maneuvered back around Dain's chair so that he could fully gaze down into the arena.

The rest of the royals also sat forward once again in their seat and looked on to what was happening.

For a moment, all those inhabiting the balcony were tense, thinking it to be Ren who had cried out, and it was her. But, the reason for her crying out was not because of her own pain.

It appeared as though the foul creatures and overrun the blonde she-elf and had gotten ahold of her raven haired friend who she had appeared to have been protecting. She had collapsed onto the ground and blood was spilling from her stomach where an orc's blade had cut her deeply.

Thorin couldn't help it when his eyes shot to Ren and watched as this strange glimmer suddenly entered into her eyes as she gazed down at her companion, arm poised to strike another foe given that she was frozen in place.

Then, all at once, her brow furrowed deeply and she began to fight back against her enemies with a renewed vigor.

The rest of the slaves were doing equally as well and finished off their own side. The other fighter, Cel, was the first one to reach the collapsed elleth, her own emerald eyes shinning with fear.

"Ren!" The other blonde called and the champion didn't even bother to look back as she beheaded her final foe, a growl of both anger and exertion ripping itself free from her throat, both knives easily cutting through the sickly flesh of the orc.

She then paused for a moment, both her hands clutching tightly to her blades. Raising her head up towards the heavens, she closed her eyes and it was evident she was fighting to stay in control of herself. Her shoulders heaved as she struggled to keep her breathing normal and even when she opened her eyes, they were, startlingly enough, glassy.

The elf knew that there was little they could do. Everyone knew that there was little they could do.

She released her knives suddenly which sunk into the sand just beside her boots. Then, she was striding across the arena towards the girl, ripping the tattered cloth from around her waist before dropping to her side, opposite of where Cel was.

The green eyed female was clutching the girl's face while Ren was trying to staunch the blood leaking from her abdomen. It proved to be too much though and the cloth was soon soaked with the liquid and it began to coat her hands.

The entire arena was silent as they watched on, all of the audience members having fallen silent as soon as Ren had screamed in horror at what she had witnessed.

The only real sound was Cel's quiet murmuring as she continued to talk to her fallen companion, tears streaming down her face as she did so.

Ren's own eyes were glimmering with moisture as she continued to apply pressure. The dark haired girl was then reaching out for the champion and Cel turned back to look at her for a moment before she shifted and began to hold the cloth over the wound, freeing the blonde up to talk to her.

With shaking, bloodied hands, the champion reached out to her companion, lightly cupping her cheeks which had since become very ashen.

The girl spoke quietly in elvish to her, the glimmer in her eyes slowly fading with every second that passed. Ren herself spoke back, her sapphire eyes searching the younger female's own pair.

Then, all at once, she stilled.

Both blondes just looked at her face for a long moment before Cel let out a loud sob, her hand rising to cover her mouth as she chocked down the rest of her remorse.

Ren just allowed herself to bow over the female, her eyes scrunching shut as she continued to hold the female's face, resting her forehead against her own as her body shook.

"That's a shame really..." Borgil muttered then, his hand rubbing over the rough stubble upon his chin. "I was going to sell that one to one of your nobles here."

"What was her name?" Kili asked quietly, a solemn mood having radiated across the arena.

"They called her Mal."

Thorin only heard the man's words but didn't register them, given that he was continuing to watch the happenings before him. Ren's shoulders shook and yet she made no sounds as she simply sat with the female, her head hidden by her curtain of golden hair.

But as soon as the Slaver had spoken the young elf's name, her head rose ever so slightly from where it had been bowed. She remained bending over the girl's body and her head just slowly swiveled in the direction of her Master's voice.

He was amazed to see that no tears had leaked down her face and instead of seeing the sadness that had once lingered in her eyes, there was only hatred. _Loathing_. _Disgust_.

Eyes not even leaving the man who continued to rant about the raven haired girl, she picked up the bow that had been discarded in the sand. She rose slowly with the weapon still clutched tightly in her palm.

Stepping forward, she moved so that she stood just before the balcony. Much to his amazement and delight, the King found that there was almost a feral, crazed look in her eyes as they continued to linger on the Slavemaster.

She spoke then, her words coming out quaking as she struggled to keep her voice even. Raising a finger, she pointed at Borgil and spoke a long bit of elvish before she pointed at the motionless body of the girl where Cel was still grieving.

The greasy man just remained silent, his arms crossed over his chest.

When he failed to respond, she instead shouted at him, causing those in the audience to jump slightly at the sheer volume, not to mention the desperation in her voice. Once again, her eyes turned a bit watery as she continued to speak, the tears threatening to spill now of anger and regret.

She began to mutter the same elvish phrase over and over again through her gritted teeth as she pointed her finger up at him before slowly lowering it to herself.

"No more." Kili breathed from off to the side, having recognized the elvish words, some of the few that his servant had taught him. And here was Ren, repeating them with a break in her voice. "No more death."

Every single person upon that balcony heard him utter those words and they knew.

When Borgil failed to respond once again, this seemed to cause something inside of the elleth to snap. Quick as a whip, she had reached into the quiver upon her back and withdrew the final arrow she had there. Knocking it without even pausing, she raised the bow upward until it was trained upon the greasy man.

His eyes immediately widened but he didn't move. For he knew that trying to run would be of little use.

Then, almost hissing out one final string of elvish, she tensed, her head tilting slightly to the side as she waited for what evidently was an answer. The greasy man just looked at her for a moment before uttering a single word.

She didn't even wait to contemplate his answer for a minute before she released the taunt string and before hardly anyone could process what was happening, the arrow was flying upward.

The arrow landed with a resounding clank as it collided with the solid stone wall behind the man and all was still once again for a moment.

All eyes were wide as they watched as the man reached up and he felt along the side of his head, only for him to gasp in shock as he pulled away a thick clump of greasy hair that had been cut off. There was also a few drops of blood upon his fingers but nothing that would be too worrisome.

Ren then murmured one final phrase before lowering her hand which held the bow before tossing it to the side.

The guards that had been watching the events unfold rushed out into the arena and the female didn't even try to fight as they took hold of her. For a moment, her sharp eyes drifted to Thorin's own pair before she was forced down onto her knees and then onto her stomach so that they could bind her hands behind her back.

* * *

><p>The door to his chambers was shoved open so hard that it banged against the wall behind it.<p>

The King looked away from the fire where he was standing, his jaw clenching in annoyance but nonetheless, he watched as the female was yanked into the room but none other than the Slaver himself.

"Here you are, my lord king! Just as you asked for!" He bellowed with a crazed look in his eyes as he grabbed her by the shoulder and shoved her forward. She stumbled a bit sideways and ran into one of the wooden chairs placed around his large table. However, Borgil was not done with the abuse yet.

Following behind her, he grabbed hold of her thick mane of hair and dragged her back out into the open where the dwarf lord could once again see her.

A grunt escaped her lips as she was yanked around, one of her eyes screwed shut as the man kept a tight grip upon her blonde hair. But even then, there was defiance in her gaze, if not a little pain.

The greasy man raised his hand to strike her but it was the voice of the King himself which stopped him.

"That is enough, Slavemaster." He looked up to find that the dwarf was pouring himself a glass of wine, his features calm as he set the pitcher down and raised his goblet to his lips. He took a small sip before lowering it and turning to look back at the man.

"My lord, she nearly took my head off! She deserves to be punished-"

"And she will receive her punishment." He took another sip of his wine before he took a few steps across the room but he shot a dark smirk over his shoulder as he approached a desk. "In due time, that is."

Pulling open one of the drawers, he withdrew a bag from its hiding place and it jingled loudly as the coins shifted against each other inside.

"I think that this should satisfy the price of the offer I made to you." Thorin slowly walked back over to the two of them. He allowed his eyes to move from the man's eyes to the elf's at his side for a moment before they roved over the rest of her. "An entire night with your little champion."

"And perhaps many more... Should you find her pleasing enough, my lord." The man bowed his head slightly before reaching out and taking hold of the bag offered to him. This action caused him to release Ren's hair and she slowly raised back up to her full height.

Weighing the bag in his palm, he seemed to find the amount acceptable and clenched his fist around it, a smug smirk settling across his features. "I find your payment _more_ than satisfying, my lord. Thank you."

The King then held out his hand expectantly and Borgil simply placed the ring hooked to the chain around her neck in his hand before pocketing the gold. He then turned towards the door but paused for a moment and turned back to face them, his eyes blazing quietly as he looked at Ren, wanting to feel him out.

"So, my lord. What do you think of her?" He threw his hand in her direction and the dwarf slowly turned his head to look over at her. There was strange emptiness, almost a hollowed look in her eyes as she stared blankly across the room, not so much as even looking in his direction like she normally did.

But, Thorin, being the prospective buyer, raised his chin and clasped his hands behind his back. He slowly began to walk around her, appraising her as if she were livestock.

"Is she to your liking?"

"If she was not to my liking, I would not have asked you to bring her here." The dwarf lord murmured, that smirk once again upon his face as he continued to let his eyes rake over her form. He carefully reached out and brushed her long hair over her shoulder, exposing the smooth column of her throat. "I would not have paid you such an amount if I did not find that she was to my liking."

"Of course, my lord." The King came to a stop before her but left little space between the two of their chests. He looked up the little bit he had to and was silently daring her to meet his eyes. For he wanted to see the blazing fire in those depths once again. Not this strange, dead look.

It was quiet in the room for a moment as the three of them stood there before the dwarf finally began to feel a bit bored. "You may leave now, Borgil. You are wasting both my precious time and gold."

"Yes, right. But, my lord king-"

"I said _get out_." Thorin growled suddenly, cutting the man off. The greasy man just met his icy blue eyes over Ren's leather clad shoulder. "I am not in the mood to continue speaking with you and it would be to your advantage to leave now lest you see how _truly_ angry I can become."

This caused the Slaver's eyes to widen in fear and he immediately turned and headed for the door.

However, he paused at the large entrance and turned back to make one more remark about the story that he had told the royals about the last man the elleth had been with but found he could not form proper words as he watched the King lean in and press a kiss to the soft skin of the slave's throat, his icy eyes upon him the entire time.

Thorin heard her breathing hitch but was too busy glaring at Borgil to acknowledge it.

"_Out_." He growled against her skin and the Slavemaster evidently remembered the threat the dwarf had just made and quickly fled the room without another glance back.

It was quiet in the room for a long moment, the shutting of the heavy door resounding through the room.

The dwarf lord simply leaned back and away from her, once again hoping to see that challenging glint in her eye but was disappointed when he found that it was still missing.

Reaching up, the King took hold of a few loose strands of her hair and tucked it behind her pointed ear, a strange emotion slowly playing into his irises. "He did not hurt you did he?"

Anuon ducked out from behind the changing screen from where he had hidden himself like his Master told him to before the Slaver arrived. He then repeated what the dwarf had asked her and she gave a slow shake of her head.

"Taking a chance at your Master's life was incompetent but... in the same moment, extremely brave." He murmured and his servant translated his words quickly. A small smile curled up the corners of his mouth. "Though next time, I would not miss."

It was at this time that she actually allowed her eyes to slowly drift to his before she said something he could not understand.

"I did not miss."

Upon hearing her words, the dwarf lord slowly raised a playful brow in her direction. "Oh?"

She said something else, "It was a warning."

"A warning that next time you hold a weapon, you would instead end his life?"

Ren shook her head again, her eyes once again becoming distant and filled with sadness. "No. It was a warning that next time one of them dies, he will pay for their lives with his own."

The King just looked at her for a long moment as he allowed her words to sink in. Then, his mind briefly flickered back to what he had seen the night before and how she had given the others her blanket as well as her food. But, he also remembered other things he had subconsciously noticed but hadn't really paid attention to.

Like the fact that Ren was thinner if you compared her to the other fighters. If the act he witnessed the night before had been going on for some time, he understood why she was skinnier. She was too busy worrying about the others to leave time for herself.

"Are you hungry?" He asked her then and Anuon translated. She only replied with a small shake of her head.

"That is a lie that we and we both know it." Thorin said, one corner of his mouth pulling up slightly. However, he glanced down at her and took note that she was once again filthy, black carnage and blood still left on her armor and body from the ruthless slaughtering she had been doing in the arena.

A small chuckle escaped his throat.

"Before we dine though, I think it would be best if you... washed up a bit." Gesturing slightly at her stained armor, the female frowned softly before slowly looking down at herself. "I think you would feel more comfortable at least."

However, the King himself frowned when he took note that she still had her hands bound behind her back.

Reaching out, he lightly grasped her biceps and gave them a gentle squeeze. "But, that won't do." He muttered before he drew back one side of his fur robe and withdrew a small knife from a concealed pocket.

He was a king after all. He couldn't be too careful anymore.

The slave before him only shifted nervously, taking a half a step back from him. Seeing her reluctance, he only held up his free hand and shook his head, silently telling her that she had nothing to fear.

He would not harm her.

Circling around her, he took slow, cautious steps as if he would around a wild animal. The she-elf didn't move in the slightest as he came to stand just behind her and immediately, his eyes drifted down to her tightly bound hands. They were stained heavily with blood from her comrade's wound.

Placing his hand upon her left forearm, he moved to cut through the thick rope but paused for a beat, suddenly remembering what Borgil had said about the last encounter she had had with a "client".

"If I cut your hands free of these bindings, do you promise not to hurt me?" Anuon translated his words and the female nodded before replying, "I promise."

"I want to hear you say it out loud..." The King commanded gently, the knife still hovering over the rope. "Say, 'I promise' in the Common Tongue."

Again the servant explained his lord's desires.

"I promise." Came her easy reply and Thorin was amazed that there was no accent to accompany the words she had spoken. It had almost sounded... natural?

"Very good." He lightly squeezed her forearm as a way of physically rewarding her for complying with his request.

It only took him a few moments to saw through the rope and soon her wrists were freed from their bindings and he allowed them to fall back to her sides. The dwarf felt his brow twitch with interest when he watched as she flexed her hands out, the rope having evidently digging into her skin and cutting of circulation. With baited breath, he waited to see if she would do anything now that she was free of her restraints but instead just stood quietly in the same place she had been standing.

Turning to his servant, he asked for him to retrieve a bucket of warm water and a clean rag that she could use to clean up before starting to eat.

However, when he turned back to look at the elf, he found that she was instead staring into his large fireplace, her eyes transfixed upon the flames as they danced about on the logs.

Thorin was about to open his mouth and speak to her but remembered that she couldn't speak Common Tongue and he could not speak elvish.

So, picking up the chain where he had dropped it to the floor, he looked up and found her to be watching him intently.

Holding out his hand, he beckoned her forward with his index finger and understanding what he wanted, she complied and followed behind him. The dwarf lord sat down in his seat at the head of the table and then gestured for her to do the same in the chair next to him. Surprisingly, she did as asked and simply sat in the chair offered to her, her bloodstained hands placing themselves into her lap.

His male servant returned a few moments later and handed the supplies to the King. When Anuon quietly offered to clean her off himself, he was waved away by the dwarf lord. Looking a bit puzzled for a moment, the brunet slave shot him a look but nonetheless backed up a few steps, giving the two of them more privacy.

Wetting the towel, Thorin rung it out and scooted his chair towards her, causing the female's sharp irises to snap over to him from where they had been watching the fire.

Ren watched him quietly as he did all this, her eyes tracing his every movement. However, as he moved closer and took a closer look at her filthy face, he couldn't help but chuckle quietly.

How someone managed to be so dirty was beyond him.

A small smile remained on his face even as he carefully pressed the rag to her forehead. Gently stroking it across her smooth skin, he marveled at how easily the blood and dirt seemed to come off, leaving only what skin lay underneath.

Having to re-wet, the rag a few times, the water soon became cloudy and black with the excess liquid from the carnage of the battle. However, with each stroke of the cloth, Thorin found that he only became more and more intrigued with her.

But, it was when he began to wipe the dark charcoal marks from around her eyes did he feel his curiosity peak.

Once they were mostly gone, the King found that her eyes themselves were almost more beautiful. They now stood out more against her pale skin and as he sat back and looked at her, he found that she did not look as threatening as before, not in the slightest. Even with the charcoal gone from around her eyes, the sapphire pools seemed to grow softer and instead were filled with a nervousness.

Nervousness like one would see in the eyes of a deer in the forest before it would go bounding away.

Then, with a shuddering breath, he scooted even closer, one of his legs coming to rest between her two legs so that he could properly reach her. Feeling her eyes upon him, he looked up and saw the trepidation lingering there still.

Leaning in towards her, he brushed her thick hair out of the way and reaching behind her, found the buckles that kept the muzzle around her face. He heard her breathing become a bit more rapid now that he was so close. She was also perfectly still as he struggled with the buckles, not daring to move a muscle.

After he had the first one undone, he found that the second one was much easier and when he was finished with that, he leaned back and expected to see her face but instead found that she had at some point raised one of her hands and was using it to hold the muzzle in place, her blue eyes wide as she stared unseeing at the fabric of her trousers.

Gazing at her for a long moment, Thorin's eyes softened further and he carefully reached out and took hold of the wrist holding the muzzle up.

"You can let it go. You don't have to be afraid." He told her quietly, his voice rumbling low in his chest. The male elf standing behind them quickly translated and the female just shook her head in response. He continued to gently hold her wrist. "Ren...?" Slowly, her eyes rose to meet his.

And in the depths of his own eyes, the elleth felt herself become taken aback by the strangely gentle look in his pale blue irises. She had been expecting to see anger and cruelty lingering in the depths but instead only saw a strange softness. Something that she had not been expecting at all.

"Anuon, can you go prepare a nice warm bath, please? And can you ask your sisters to bring up some food from the kitchen?" The dwarf called out into the quiet room, knowing that he would not need someone to translate for him. But, there was also the aspect of wanting a bit more of privacy. Perhaps her hesitance would dissipate then.

Without a word, the servant left, effectively leaving the two of them alone in the King's chambers.

Feeling the strength suddenly leave her arms, she turned her head to the side in hopes of hiding herself as she allowed the King to slowly pull her wrist down and away from her face, taking the muzzle with it.

And as her hand and the muzzle fell away, Thorin simultaneously felt the breath leave him and his mind went blank of everyone and everything he had ever known. Except for her.

For a moment, nothing else in the entire world seemed to be of any relevance as he gazed at the elf before him. She was far more beautiful than any other woman he had ever seen in his entire existence.

Being at one point in his life both a Crowned Prince and a King, the dark haired dwarf had had his fair share of suitors, all of which were lovely dwarf women... but none were so lovely as she was.

Reaching out, he curled a finger beneath her chin and gently turned her to face him so that he could gaze upon her entire face.

It was so strange to see her like this, her whole face bared before him because the past couple nights, he had only imagined what she looked like. His curiosity had gotten the best of him and he had instead laid awake at night in his bed and his mind was only filled with thoughts of her, some of them innocent and some of them not so innocent. He did not know what lay beneath that muzzle and even in his dreams, he could not have come up with a face so mesmerizing as her own.

The skin that had been hidden from view was completely unblemished and appeared soft like alabaster silk. The same sapphire irises stared back at him even then, eyes wide with fear of the unknown of what was yet to come. Then, his eyes drifted lower until they rested upon her lips, lips that gave him the need to suddenly place his own over hers own.

He wanted to touch her, to confirm that all of this was not a fantasy. That was not just another one of the dreams that he had been having of her at night.

Raising his hand, he slowly moved to cup her cheek but frowned softly as he watched her suddenly flinch away from his touch. She drew back slightly, a slightly mistrusting look suddenly gleaming in her eyes after what he had done the night before.

He had hurt her, he remembered, though she had not outwardly showed it. Even still, she seemed to recall the cruelty he had displayed before and only seemed to expect more of it from him.

And now, he was sorry for it. What he had witnessed the night before, her showing unnecessary kindness to the others, made him realize that she did not deserve the treatment he had given her.

But, being the persistent and stubborn dwarf that he is, Thorin once more reached out to her and was more than pleased that she did not move away from him this time thought mistrust still shown clearly in her clear irises.

When the pads of his fingers touched her cheek, an inaudible gasp escaped from between his lips. Her skin was just as soft as he had first thought and he left his hand slide further along her face until he cradled it in his palm.

"You are so beautiful..." He whispered to her, uncaring as to whether or not she could understand him, as he ever so lightly stroked his thumb over the skin of her pale cheeks. But, his eyes then found the slight discoloration upon her cheek and more regret flooded his systems.

Brushing his thumb over it, he was still a bit impressed that she failed to flinch, given that it did indeed look tender. He was, however, very careful as he did so, wanting to silently tell her that he was sorry for the abuse he had put upon her.

Much to his amazement, she-elf had closed her eyes and was leaning into his touch, as if she craved more.

This puzzled him for a moment but then remembered how he had taken note that her hair was left wild and unbraided while all her companions had a few plaits or weaves in her hair.

And then he realized.

She was always separated from the others, always kept away from them. Ren had little contact with her comrades and received just a minuscule amount of contact from others as well. And the contact she did receive was always punishing, never gentle or caring in the slightest. Just always painful.

But this, what he was doing now, cradling her face in the palm of his warm hand, was one of the first kind touches she had felt in a long time.

And he would give her more he decided but, he would have to wait. For the time was not right and he knew that he would need to gain her trust before he tried anything to forward. But, he could push her limits, he told himself. He could see just how much contact she wanted and if so, he would most definitely give it to her.

* * *

><p><strong>Hey guys!<strong>

**Got another one out!**

**People commented last time and said that Thorin is a complete ass in this story... Which is what I wanted! He's supposed to be a darker, more corrupted man because that's just how I wanted him. **

**Anyway, currently working on the second part of the Bard/Ren/Legolas story so just sit tight! More fluff sure to come!**

**Also, I have another a modern AU with Thorin/Ren that I want to try writing. Hopefully it turns out okay. I want to get it done in time for Christmas and wanted to have a few chapters out already leading up to the holiday but it kinda snuck up on me! Tomorrow is Christmas Eve!**

**Anyway, this fic will end up being fluffy and cute in the end. Not sure if I want it to be smutty but who knows what will happen.**

**Anyway, read and review! If you have an AU idea, leave it for me!**

**Love,**

**Blue**


	7. Color Part 2

**You Color My Life: Part 2**

**(Bard/Ren, Legolas/Ren)**

Bard groaned as he raised his arms above his head and stretched his aching back out. When he heard a satisfying pop and felt the release of tension in his spinal cord, he sighed in contentment as he opened the door to his bedroom and stepped out into the quiet house.

Light streamed in through the various windows of the house but he suddenly realized that it was cold in his house, his toes being the ones to come to that realization.

Yawning, he made his way into the kitchen first, lazily pushing on the swinging door with his shoulder as he rubbed a hand over his face, half expecting to see a blonde woman poking around in around in the cupboards or around the stove but instead found the room to be completely empty.

Frowning softly, he took note that the fireplace across the room had burnt down to mere embers and walked over to it, picking up a few logs from the pile beside it and placed them onto the glowing pieces in hopes of warming up the rest of the house. Reaching over, he picked up the old fire poker and began to churn the glowing coals in hopes of reviving the flames.

Blinking blearily, he turned and did a once over of the room, finding that nothing was out of place, meaning that he was the first one up.

Once again frowning, he pushed out of the room again and walked further into the dinning room, taking note of the unconscious man still lying on the table.

He felt a bit of annoyance trickle into his system but he felt it soon melt away when he took note of the person at his side.

There was Ren, her arm placed under her head, as was a sliver of the blanket covering the other elf. Her long braid was spilling over her shoulder and dangling in the air while the oversized tunic slipped slightly off her shoulder. Her lips were parted slightly and the rest of her face was lax as well as she slept.

And yet, finding her there was not so much of a surprise.

No doubt she had stayed up all night, making sure that her patient was fairing okay. He noticed that the book that she had been reading was lying open on the floor, having evidently fallen out of her lap in her sleep so that the pages were splayed open.

Feeling a small smile pull at his lips, he walked across the room and simply stared down at her for a moment, admiring how peaceful her features looked just then.

Reaching out, he gently smoothed her soft hair down, his thumb brushing some stray strands from her forehead so that he could get a better view of the lovely face that he had been dreaming about for the past few nights.

She just shifted slightly, a small sleepy whine coming from her throat as she settled further into sleep, her fist tightening around the blanket under her head.

The bowman just smiled again before moving across the room and picking up one of their old wool blankets. He then returned to her side and gently drapped it over her shoulders, giving them a gentle squeeze before leaving to stoke the other fire in the room.

He glanced back at her again, wondering if he should wake her up and tell her to go back to her own bed but figured that if he woke her, she wouldn't sleep until that very night. For Ren wasn't one to sit still or take naps during the day. It just wasn't in her nature to do so. For some strange reason, she always felt the need to be busy.

When the fire was once again crackling with life, he turned and left the room to begin making breakfast for his children who would no doubt soon be awake and causing chaos all throughout the house.

It was only then that he stopped and bent down to retrieve the book that had fallen out of her lap, placing it back on the table beside her head before with a final stroke of her silk tresses, he moved back to the kitchen.

* * *

><p>Breathing deeply through her nose, she shifted in her seat but paused when she heard movement beside her.<p>

Frowning softly, she furrowed her brow and willed herself to settle further into the darkness surrounding her when suddenly the blanket she was using as a pillow was yanked out from underneath her head.

That was when she realized that she had fallen asleep.

However, she found that it was almost too delightful to keep her eyes closed and just continued to doze the day away. But, knowing her duties and that she had to go open up the ward for the day, she slowly began to open her eyes.

Drawing her eyelids back, she sighed once again through her nose and stared blankly at the space before her but as she slowly came to, she realized that she was not blankly staring at the wall of Bard's home like she normally was.

No, instead a pair of curious, light blue eyes were watching her.

Blinking in realization, she sat up then, remembering the events that had unfolded yesterday and why there was a man -no, _elf_- lying on the dinning room table.

Taking a moment to compose herself, she blinked again before widening her eyes in hopes of waking herself up more quickly, sleep pulling desperately on her mind and wanting to drag her back down into the depths. Brushing away a few wild strands of hair from her face, she tucked them behind her ear and looked back to the now conscious male lying flat on the table. They simply stared at each other for a long moment before it was he who spoke first.

"Hello."

"Hello." She replied quietly, folding her hands into her lap.

"Have I passed into the West?" He asked her quietly, his voice weak and his eyes half idled as he continued to lay on the table. He had one of their warm cotton blankets draped over the top of him, given that the house got extremely cold at night, so much so, she often caught Sigrid and Tilda snuggling in the same bed to conserve body heat.

"No." She replied quietly, the corners of her mouth curling upward slightly, showing him comfort in his time of need. "You are very much alive, no thanks to your comrades who were able to get you here just in time."

"Are you so certain?" A small smile of his own pulled up his lips as his eyes continued to lazily trace across her facial features. "You cannot be real." He reasoned with her, his words still coming out as almost a whisper.

"I am very real." She told him, her voice still soft as she continued to be the kind healer that she was.

Tentatively reaching out, she placed her hand upon his bare forearm, feeling how he was once again warm with life. Quite unlike he was the night before.

At her touch, he looked at down where their skin met and his smile grew wider and there was a strange dreamy look in his eyes. Slowly reaching his hand up, Ren just watched as he carefully took hold of her wrist, his own touch light against her skin. His long fingers just moved along up her hand until he was had her fingers lightly trapped between his thumb and his palm.

"Are you so sure?" The elf asked quietly, slowly quirking one brow as he continued to gaze at her. "Because I have never laid eyes on any living creature as beautiful as you."

The she-elf couldn't help it when her cheeks burned with warmth at his remark. They turned a soft pink and she pulled her hand from his grasp before placing it back into her own lap where it grasped the fabric of her trousers.

She just looked down and away from him as she fought to control the flush racing through her entire body.

Simply smiling and shaking her head, she played it off as him still being delirious, thinking that perhaps he hadn't yet recovered entirely from being bashed over the head.

"Thank you for the flattery..." She smiled shyly again, brushing more hair behind her ear. "But, I am only a healer."

She stood up suddenly, the blanket that had been draped over her shoulders falling to the ground in the process. This caused her to pause a moment, recalling that last night, she had not had a blanket.

Turning her head back to the rest of the house, she listened for a moment and found that it seemed to be entirely empty.

_Bard_. She sighed through her nose, her eyes fluttering closed in realization. He must have taken the children out with him that day, leaving her to sleep awhile longer, given that she had been up most of the night.

Bending down, she picked up the blanket and folded it before tossing it back onto the basket where it normally sat.

The male elf only watched her move around the room for a minute before he slowly propped himself up on his elbows, wincing the entire way. His head pounded and ached so he slowly reached a hand up to feel it. He was surprised when he found bandages lying there.

"Where am I?" He asked through gritted teeth.

"Esgaroth."

"Laketown?"

"If I recall, there is only one town in Middle Earth named Esgaroth..."

"What happened?" He asked, trying to sit up further but instead hissed in pain. "Why am I in so much pain?"

The female immediately didn't even turn back to look at him as she placed another log into the large fireplace. "_It would be in your best interest to remain lying down_." She told him in Sindarin which caused the male to incline both his brows and blink, trying to comprehend that she had actually just spoken his native language to him. Or perhaps he was going insane. She just turned back to face him, wiping her hands on her trousers. "You attacked a band of orcs and were hurt. Hit over the head and were cut deeply in the side."

"You speak elvish?" He completely ignored her remark, instead choosing to focus that she could speak his language.

With a disbelieving look on her face, she just crossed her arms and shook her head at him. Momentarily unfolding her arms, she motioned to her pointed ears which were easily on display given the thick braid that was plaited down the center of her back. And given that he had been consistently staring at her, he should have noticed by then.

The male just blinked slowly and opened his mouth to say something but stopped before frowning softly. "You said I was _hit_ over the head?" She gave a single, slow nod, confirming her previous words. He just gazed at her, trying to wrap his mind around it. "How hard?"

"Hard enough to force me to give you stitches." She told him, her eyebrows raised as she once again turned away from him and picked up the fire poker beside the fireplace and began to adjust the logs.

"So that's why it feels like there's a dwarf hammering away at my skull every time I open my eyes..." He murmured, reaching a hand up to rub at his eyes.

"It's lucky you're alive." The elleth replied as she finished her work. "You lost a lot of blood. It was a good thing your companions found me before it was too late. And even then, I was worried you wouldn't make it through the night." She busied herself with folding another blanket that had been discarded on the floor before the fireplace, no doubt one that Tilda had drug through the house that morning.

The male just narrowed his eyes at her and smiled slightly once again. "Is that why you were asleep beside me?"

He watched as she paused and he felt his smile widen slightly when he took note that her ears had turned a shade pinker once again. "I was supposed to be up to make sure you didn't suddenly wake up and panic when you didn't recognize where you were. I was supposed to make sure you didn't hurt yourself again."

"But... you fell asleep?"

"... unintentionally."

The elf just watched her for a minute before pursing his lips and slowly shaking his head, only to wince in pain again. "You are an _awful_ healer then."

Her head snapped back to look at him, a dangerous glint in her sharp blue eyes. "Excuse me?"

"I'm sorry." He immediately held up a hand to show that he was innocent. "That wasn't supposed to be spoken out loud..." He suddenly looked concerned for a moment as he stared blankly at the floor beneath the legs of the table. "And that was very rude. I'm not _usually_ this rude." He mused to himself, his pale blue eyes growing wide with worry. He then looked up at her. "Something is amiss in my mind."

"You mean you're not usually a talkative muttonhead?" She couldn't help the smile that now pulled back her own lips. A small laugh even escaped her throat and she just shook her head before walking passed him on the table. "I'm sure you're still just being affected by the concussion." The blonde reassured him, watching how the tenseness in his shoulders began to dissipate. "Now, are you hungry?"

He thought about this for a moment. "Not terribly so."

"How about I make you some broth?" She offered as she began to back towards the kitchen. "It'll make you feel better, I promise?"

With a slight quirk of his lips, the elf decided that he could not deny her if she was offering so willingly. Simply nodding her head, she turned back around to enter into the other room through the swinging door but as she was doing so, the male realized something.

He had to _go_.

"Ah! Ah-Miss!" He called after her and she paused in the doorway before turning to look back at him. She just raised a brow in response to his call. "Do you um..." He licked his lips, wondering how he could word his next statement so it didn't sound so... _crude_. "Do you have... a bucket that I could borrow that you... wouldn't want _back_?"

"What?" She asked, wrinkling her brow slightly in confusion.

"I need to..." He took a deep breath and shook his head, knowing that this was going to sound horrible but it needed to happen anyway. "... relieve myself?" He then glanced down at his crotch and he watched as the she-elf slapped an embarrassed hand over her face.

"Oh, Eru." She murmured, closing her eyes and sighing heavily through her nose. She then rubbed her forehead with her hand. "How badly? Like do I need to go get a bucket _right_ now?"

"It's just a little urgent." He told her, his cheeks burning slightly.

With a resounding sigh, she rubbed her hand over her face one last time before opening her eyes once again, glaring right at him.

"Very well." She murmured, rolling the sleeves of her blouse down so that the ends once again rested at her wrists. "I just have to run down to my medical ward and get one. I'm not having you wasting one of our good buckets here." The blonde replied as she reached for a heavy blue coat that rested upon one of the various hooks by the door. She also wrapped a dark gray scarf around her neck. "I shouldn't be but a couple minutes before I'm back with the piss-pot." The elleth muttered dryly before she opened the door to the house. "And don't you go anywhere." She warned him, pointing a finger in his direction before she shut the door and left him alone.

The male elf couldn't help but chuckle slightly at the vulgarity of her words though he couldn't deny that it was amusing. She was an _elven_ healer in a town of _Men_. No wonder their sharp words and gritty attitudes had rubbed off on her.

And yet, he still couldn't deny that he rather enjoyed her underlying charm.

* * *

><p>Her boots were quiet as they pounded on the wooden boards that made up the docks. Smiling contentedly, she raised her head up towards the cloudy sky, enjoying the fact that it was starting to snow. Winter was only just settling over the land and with it, it seemed to bring the wonderful flakes with it.<p>

Moving through the various paths in the village, she eventually came upon the familiar sight of Esgaroth's medical ward, or as she liked to think of it, her second home.

It wasn't huge and immaculate but it was big enough to serve the citizens of Laketown.

The tiny building consisted of three rooms, a front room which she used as a general examination room that held about six cots placed close together. It was also where she grew the various herbs she needed in the windows. The second room was only entered through the first one and Ren typically used this one to house patients who were sick and needed to be kept quarantine from the other patients and held four cots in it. And lastly, the third room was more like her personal office where she also grew more herbs in the numerous windows but she also had a number of tools and a fireplace in there, as well as a long and wide table she used for surgery, as she should have used with the injured elf.

Again, it wasn't much but it was enough.

Without hesitating, she walked up to the front door and pulled it open before stepping inside, the familiar heat from a fire warming her skin as she stepped out of the nippy air. The little bell above the door dinged, for it was placed there if the ward was empty and she was busy in the back and couldn't hear the door open.

Not she needed it with her hearing but it had been there before she had taken over the ward and hadn't the heart to take it down.

Shaking the white flakes from her hair, she paused just inside the doorway and looked around the larger room. A few of the elven warriors were seated on some of the cots and were talking in their native tongue while one of the others was looking through the small collection of books she kept there for recovering patients. One also walked in the back door, shutting it behind him and looking up to her find her standing there.

They all turned to look and she just nodded her head in greeting.

"Good morning, gentlemen." She said before moving across the room and picking up the bucket that sat in the corner of the room. "I cannot stay and talk long but I will say that your comrade is awake and doing well. He made it through the night and I would love to stay and give you more details but..." She held up the bucket to exaggerate her point. "He needs to relieve himself."

And with that, Ren was gone, once again leaving out the front door.

It did not take her long to get back to Bard's house and she strode up the steps and opened the door, only to pause when her eyes landed on the elf before her. He was sitting up and had his feet dangling over the edge of the table as he was struggling to lower himself onto the floor, his face scrunched up in pain as his side stretched painfully yet he had to _go_ and he didn't appear to _care_.

Cursing loudly, the female dropped the bucket and raced to his side before he could fall and hurt himself.

"That's unlady-like." He said through gritted teeth as she slung his arm over her shoulder, helping him to place his feet onto the wooden floorboards before he leaned back upon the table's edge.

"Well... you're being an idiot." She said once he was upright, brushing her hair out of her eyes.

"It is an emergency." The elf explained and the blonde female simply glared at him before picking the bucket up and placing it on the ground before him. "I was on my way to find a bathroom."

"Well, the toilet is downstairs, out in the cold. It's beginning to snow out and you're shirtless." The blonde just smirked, shrugging out of her coat and scarf before replacing it on the hook, shaking the snow out of her hair and onto the floor. "I don't think you would have liked that."

He only smiled slightly, bracing his hands back on the table as his head throbbed once again. He then reached out and toed the bucket before him, a slight wrinkle in his nose. "So... this is the famous... piss-pot."

"The appropriately named piss-pot." She chuckled slightly as she moved to the kitchen, wanting to give him some privacy. "Though I wasn't the one to name it. A couple of guards last year got sick during the winter and didn't want to use the out-house down the dock. So, they decided to do their business inside, away from winter's chill."

"Doesn't it... disgust you?"

"I'm a healer and it's a natural thing the body does. You can't just... _not_ go." She pushed into the kitchen and retrieved one of the smaller pots from the cupboards and walked over to the small stove so that she could heat the broth she promised her patient.

Ren couldn't help but scrunch her nose up slightly when she heard the sound of water dripping in the other room but instead chose to ignore it as she ladled a few scoops of water into the pot.

Drawing open another pair of cupboards, she pulled out some spices and began to add them to the clear water. She was about to push through the swinging door but paused for a moment.

"Are you finished yet?" She called to him through the wood.

"Yes."

And with that, she exited the kitchen and was relieved to find that he actually had covered himself and was once again sitting calmly on the table. But, when she entered into the room, he turned to look at her.

Slowly striding across the room, she paused just before the bucket and reached down, taking hold of the rope handle before lifting it up. "You're lucky I'm such a nice person." She smiled slightly before she began to approach the door down the hall that led to the lower level of the house. "I usually make the other men do it."

Quietly chuckling, he just shook his head and watched her as she disappeared down the steps, the cold beginning to creep up the stairs into the house.

He shuddered slightly when the nip his his bare chest but the she-elf returned a few minutes later with the same bucket and a bundle wrapped in cloth. She shut the door behind her and sat the bucket down at the end of the table again.

Again disappearing into the kitchen, the woman was gone a number of minutes as she unwrapped the package of chicken that had been chilling out in the winter air. She dumped it into the herbs and water and waited.

The male elf just glanced around the room for a moment before he spotted a book that was left upon the table. Reaching down, he picked it up and held the leather novel in his hands, looking over the title on the spine._ The Tale of Beren and Lúthien_, his eyes traced over the golden letters, never having read the story before.

Just as he was debating on opening the book and beginning to read, he felt the pain his injuries were causing him come full force once again.

"Excuse me, um... My lady?" He called after her and the quiet movement he heard in the kitchen ceased.

"Yes?"

"I don't suppose you have anything for pain, do you?" He waited a beat before she came through the swinging door once again, a cup held in her hands that was filled with water. "Some herbs or something that can take away the hammering in the back of my skull?"

She didn't say a word as she picked up a leather satchel that had been placed on the lone rocking chair in the room.

Standing beside where he was seated on the table, she sat the bag down and the cup before she flipped open the flap. She began to rummage around inside the bag and began to withdraw various vials and bottles filled with different colored powders and leaves.

Wordlessly, she began to mix certain ones into the water, using a stirring stick that she had also pulled from within the satchel.

"You know, I've asked so much of you already and we have only just met. You saved my life and you are still taking care of me and yet..." He smiled slightly when she raised her eyes up to look at him. "I don't even know your name."

Going back to her work, her eyes just sparkled for a moment as she continued to stir the concoction. "Just as I don't know my patient's...?"

Upon hearing this new information, the male just smirked then, shifting in his seat upon the table. "I am Legolas." He said simply, bracing his hands on the edge of the worn wood. "Legolas of Mirkwood."

"Galaren..." She responded, handing him the wooden cup. "... of Lothlorien." Tossing her long braid over her shoulder, she just leaned on the table beside him for a moment. "But, most everyone calls me Ren, save my parents."

"_Lothlorien_?" He breathed in disbelief, the same smile upon his face. "You are from the Golden Wood then? I should have guessed so... You don't look like a Mirkwood elf."

"You mean I actually have coloring to my skin?" She teased him lightly, knowing that the Greenwood was very dense and that even then, most of them didn't venture far out into the rest of the world.

In response to her words, the male elf just chuckled deeply before clutching his side as pain radiated through him but he nonetheless continued to laugh.

Ren just shook her head but still held an amused glint in her blue eyes. "Would you drink that already before you spill it?"She pressed him and watched him as he took a sip of the concoction, his face twisting up in disgust. "Keep drinking it…" She told him, forcing his wrist back to his mouth.

"That was entirely unpleasant." He told her once he finished, handing her the empty cup.

"It always is, isn't it?" Ren replied, smiling as she accepted the object before moving back into the kitchen. "The broth should be only a few more minutes and after I change your bandages, you can go back to sleep."

"Now that sounds pleasing…" He mused with a small quirk of his lips on his face, knowing that she could no doubt hear him despite the wall separating them.

Once again looking over, he reached for the book that he had set down earlier and flipped it open to the front page when he began to read.

True to her word, the blonde healer returned just a few minutes later, a bowl of steaming liquid held in her hands. Quickly placing the book down, he extended his hands towards her and she placed it into his waiting palms without another words.

"This smells lovely, my lady." He complimented as he picked up the spoon and then began to stir it. Scooping up a spoonful, he blew on it and then put it into his mouth, humming contentedly as the liquid hit his tastebuds. "And it tastes equally as lovely!"

"Well, I do only try my best…" She murmured as she turned back to the table and began to put her herbs and such back into her satchel. However, she withdrew a few roles of bandages and placed them onto the tabletop.

"Say, Ren…?" He said as he continued to stir his broth. She just hummed in response and continued to sort through her things. "What is this book about?"

He gestured to the book beside him on the table and just by the cover, she knew which one he was was talking about.

"_The Tale of Beren and Lúthien_?" He nodded in response and frowned softly when she sighed quietly. "Well, it's about love…" She started slowly as took a step towards him and climbed up on the table beside him so that she could examine his wound. She carefully untied the roll of cloth from around his head. He just glanced up at her from the corner of his eye and found that a small, soft smile had pulled back her lips. "Beren is a mortal man who falls in love with Lúthien, an elf maiden who was said to be the most fair among both Man and Elf. But, her father does not accept their love and instead sends him on a quest to find one of the Silmaril... I've trust you've heard of those correct?"

He just turned his head to look at her. "Every elven child has been told the tale."

"That is what I thought about _The_ _Tale of Beren and Lúthien_." The female murmured as she continued to take the bandages off. "Anyway, to test Beren's skill, her father sends him off to find one of the stones. It turns out that the elf maiden follows him but the story ends with Beren dying and Lúthien is so grief stricken that she also fades. But, she visits the Hall of Mandos and it all ends up that they return to the world of the living, only to die many years later from long, mortal lives."

"That's... tragic."

"It is." She agreed, peeling the bloodstained cloth from his head before placing it on the table. "I'm very surprised you'd never heard of it."

"I never got to spend much time in the library. I was always out on patrol."

"It's a bed time story for children...?"

"My father never really was one for stories, especially those of love." Legolas explained quietly as he ate the last of the stew. "You see, my mother died when I was very young."

It was quiet in the room for a long moment.

"I'm sorry to hear that." She lightly spread his soft hair out of the way to see the cut, finding that it did not look as horrible as it had the previous night. No doubt it still hurt though. "How does your head feel now?"

"The pounding is not so intense anymore." He replied before setting the bowl down and placing his hands in his lap.

"And your side, how much pain are you in?" She slipped down off the table and moved to his other side before she began to untie the knot. The healer then began to unwind the bandages. She had to reach partway around him to slip the other end beneath his arm, which he lifted up, and repeating the process.

"It's become more manageable since I took your medicine."

Her hair was brushing against his bare shoulder as she did so and the elf just watched her out of the corner of his eye. She was very close to him, so close that he was able to smell the sweet soap she used to wash her hair. He detected lavender.

Legolas inhaled deeply, taking the scent deep into his lungs before he breathed out, his eyes momentarily shutting. Ren wasn't paying attention so didn't notice his strange behavior.

"So…" He began slowly, his eyes watching her intently but his curiosity got the better of him in the end. "Do you live alone in this big house all by yourself?"

"What?" She asked, pausing a moment to look up at her patient but froze when she realized just how close she was to him. And how he was staring down at her with a strange glint in his sharp blue eyes. He was breathing softly yet she still felt the gentle puffs catching in her eyelashes. "Um… Uh… What?"

"I asked if you lived here alone…?" His eyes momentarily darted down to her lips and the she-elf blinked rapidly a few times in hopes of clearing her mind.

"Do I live-" She registered his words after a long moment and finally was able to form proper thoughts. "_No_."

And just as she said this, the front door opened and Bard came walking into the house. His eyes glanced around the room for a moment until he spotted the blonde head of hair he had come to know so well and was surprised when his gaze landed upon not one blue eyed, golden haired elf, but two.

"_Ren_." He breathed, his eyes lingering on the man for a moment before shifting to his housekeeper who was now thankfully awake.

"Hello, Bard." She replied, glancing back at Legolas as she finished unwinding the bandages before she straightened up, her cheeks once again burning after being found so close to this strange elf in almost an intimate position. "You're home early."

The male elf just looked at the dark haired man for a moment.

He was tall and had wide shoulders, strong now doubt, but he wasn't stocky. He also had dark brown hair and eyes set to match with a mustache and a bit of a beard growing on his chin as well. He was handsome in the eyes of his own people, he supposed, compared to other men and as he glanced back at the healer, he took note of the hot blush on her cheeks as well as the horrified look in her eyes.

But as he took note of this, he felt a bit of disappointment bubble in his chest. So, she was taken. He had suspected as much, if her beauty was anything to go by.

"This must be your husband then…?" The elf asked as he glanced between the two of them, gauging their reactions.

The dark haired male just looked at the she-elf for a moment and she herself held a strange glint in her sapphire eyes as she licked her lips nervously. The tension in the air was heavy for a moment, as was the silence. It was uncomfortable, Legolas realized and for a long moment he wondered why.

"No. We're not married." It was surprisingly the man who spoke, his voice gravely.

"I'm his housekeeper." Ren replied quietly, her hands ringing against themselves as she nervously stood there between the two men.

"My apologies, then." He said, offering the other man a smile though the hope was once again restored in his chest. Perhaps the woman was not as taken as he once was.

It was once again quiet in the room before the lady decided to speak up again. "Right, Bard this is Legolas... and Legolas, this is Bard." She gestured between the two of them and they exchanged head nods in greeting but just as before they lapsed back into a rather uncomfortable silence.

The bowman then seemed to snap out of the trance he had been in and remembered what he held in his hand. "Ah, yes." He raised his arm, bringing the bundle of colorful flowers into view so that she could see them. "These are for you."

"Bard…" Ren breathed, an awestruck smile upon her face as she reached and carefully took them into her own hands. She buried her nose into them and smelled them. "These are so beautiful. How did you manage to get your hands on them?"

"Belinda told me to give them to you." He had a soft smile on his face, his lips barely curling up in the corners but his eyes still held a warmth in them as he looked at her.

"Percy's wife?" He nodded and the blonde couldn't help but smile as she thought of the older woman who had a year round garden in her house. She often supplied herbs to the elven healer if she was running low on her own wares. "How kind of her. She really didn't have to give me some of her beautiful stock…"

"She said that after all you've done for them, your happiness is more than enough payment for them."

"Then I'll have to tell her thank you the next time I see her." She reached out and gave his arm a gentle squeeze before she moved by him to go into the kitchen. "Say, you don't happen to know where the children are at, do you? The house has been quiet this morning since I woke up."

_Children?_ Legolas mused as he watched her casually walk to the other end of the house, smelling the lovely flowers the entire time.

"Well, Sigrid is over at Alla's house and they are working on a quilt together. Bain ran off to go find his friends in the market, said that he would probably be home in time for diner, and if not, he would find something at Lusia's house, and Tilda-"

The front door was suddenly thrown open, causing the male elf to shiver from the gush of cold air hitting his bare chest.

A little girl stumbled in noisily and her big brown eyes searched the room before coming to land on the she-elf. "Ren!" She squealed and was immediately across the room as she threw herself at the beaming woman.

The two of them embraced tightly and the she-elf dusted the snow off the top of her soft brown hair before placing a kiss there.

"You're awake!" She giggled, bringing a hand up to her mouth to hide her goofy smile. "This morning, Da said that we had to be extra quiet so as to not wake you. He said that you needed to sleep because he thinks that you don't get enough as it is!" The older female just looked up at the bargeman for a moment, an amused grin on her face. "Do you like your flowers?"

"Yes, they're very pretty. Did Belinda help you pick them out?"

"No! Da did it all by himself! He said that he wanted it to be special for y-"

"_Tilda_." The dark haired man warned gently as he interrupted her, walking over to join the woman across the room. He placed a hand on the top of her head. "You need to leave Ren be. She has a patient to take care of." He nodded towards the elf who had just quietly been sitting and watching the entire encounter.

"Oh, okay." The little girl's shoulders sagged slightly beneath an invisible weight, disappointment evident on her face which was still tinged pink from the cold air outside. She looked back at the strange elf sitting on the dinning room table, her lips pouted slightly.

Sighing slightly, the she-elf just looked back to Bard before handing the flowers back to him, her hand gently closing over his own as he curled his calloused fingers around the stems. "Can you please go find a vase for these?" She asked him quietly and the dark haired man nodded, his boots pounding quietly on the wooden floorboards as he disappeared into the kitchen.

Untying the scarf from around her neck, Ren just smiled gently as the little girl continued to pout. "Tell you what, Tilda…" She also unbuttoned the coat and helped her out of it so that she could hang it up, along with her scarf. Coming back over to her, the healer crouched in front of the child. "After I'm done with him, you can walk down to the ward with me, okay?"

With a grin, the brunette girl lunged forward and wrapped her hands around her neck to give her another tight squeeze. "Okay!"

"Now… Why don't you go and get warmed up in the kitchen? Your hands are freezing on my neck!" With another giggle, she also disappeared into the kitchen, leaving the two elves to watch after her.

"So, you're their housekeeper then?" Legolas mused, drawing her attention away from the door where her eyes had been trained. "I thought you were a healer?"

"I needed a place to stay and Bard needed someone to help him with his children." She replied quietly as she took a step towards the table again and set to work organizing the new bandages.

"He doesn't have a wife?"

Another string of silence filled the air around them.

"She died giving birth to Tilda." Ren explained as she once again climbed onto the table and began to place a new bandage on his head wound. "And I came to Esgaroth a few years ago and became the village healer."

"You mentioned two other children?" The warrior asked after a long moment of quiet.

"Sigrid is his oldest daughter and Bain is his only son." The she-elf explained as she continued to wrap the bandages around his head.

"She seems to be very fond of you…" He said with a slight quirk of his lips, careful as to not move his head to disrupt her work. "In fact, both of them do. I can't imagine how the other two must feel."

"Well, I suppose I'm rather fond of them, too." The she-elf admitted, tying a knot in the wrapping upon his head, a soft look in her eyes. "The whole lot of them."

Slipping from the table, she began to silently bandage his side and it didn't take long for her to secure that wrapping as well, her cheeks burning the entire time with the thought of what had almost happened before Bard came home.

However, as she was finishing up and putting her things away she paused and looked down at the hard table top.

"I suppose you want to go back to sleep now?"

"Indeed." The elf blinked blearily at her, showing just how exhausted he was. "I feel so tired... So much more than I've ever felt before."

"You're probably still sluggish from blood loss." She reasoned as she finished packing away her things. She then tossed her satchel over her head and gazed calmly at him. "But, I figure that you want to have a nice bed to sleep in, yes?"

"That would be preferable. Not that your dinning room table isn't comfortable." He teased lightly, causing the woman's mouth to curl up slightly with amusement.

"Well, my ward is empty, save for your comrades so you can stay there if you like?"

"That sounds wonderful." He mused and the healer just stepped forward to help ease himself back down onto the ground. And yet, the gears in her mind continued to turn and she realized that his chest was still bare and that his trousers were also soiled with tried blood.

"I think that we leave however, you will need clothes." She told him as she released him. "We don't want you walking around looking like a mangy muttonhead, do we?"

"I think you wouldn't mind." He teased and she just shook her head before turning back to face the kitchen door.

"Bard?"

"Yes?"

"It wouldn't be too troubling to ask if you could lend Legolas one of your tunics and a pair of pants until I can get my hands on more clothes tomorrow?" The dark haired man emerged from the kitchen, his dark brows furrowed as he looked at both the blondes.

His eyes then automatically traced to the female's and the stubbornness to give up his clothes seemed to melt before his eyes. "No... I'll go get a pair right now."

With an appreciative smile upon her face, she watched as the man moved down the hall into his room before disappearing inside.

In his absence, the little brunette raced out of the swinging door as well and came running towards the older woman and the male elf. "Are you ready to go yet?" She asked, her eyes wide with excitement.

"Yes, little one. Go ahead and get your coat on and wait for us. I'm almost done." The healer promised her and Tilda bounded over to the coat rack to snag her own thick jacket.

It was then that Bard returned, holding one of his tunics and trousers in his hands.

"Here." He handed them to the male elf before bending down and helping Tilda fasten her coat shut, having heard all about the she-elf's promise to take her to the ward with her when she was finished treating Legolas.

"Thank you." The elf replied and calmly slipped the fabric over his head, wincing slightly as his side pulled but the pain dulled when he lowered his arms back down.

"You're welcome." The bargeman replied calmly, his eyes assessing the warrior before him. "Why don't you two go get some fresh bread from the kitchen?" He turned to the females in the room so that the elf could change in privacy. "Have a snack before you head out?"

"Okay!" Tilda beamed before taking hold of Ren's hand and pulling her along behind her. Bard just turned away but remained in the room incase he needed help due to his injuries.

"I don't deserve all this kindness that both you and Ren have given me." The other creature mused from behind him as a rustling of clothing was heard and then he could hear the tell-tale sound of pants being unfolded.

"Aye, no one deserves all the kindness she gives them." The bargeman mused quietly before the elf cleared his throat behind him and he turned back to find him fully clothed. "She gives it away too freely and at no price."

"And that's why you love her...?" His dark brown eyes snapped up to meet the other male's blue ones. "You and your family I mean?"

The man didn't say anything but gave the man a pointed look, instead choosing to call out for the two girls who came back into the room, each holding a piece of soft bread in their hands that Bard himself had only just then cooked that morning.

"We're ready to go then?" The blonde female asked as she shoved the last bit of bread into her mouth before crossing the room and taking her coat off the hook. "Here, you can use my coat." She handed it to Legolas but when she reached back to pick up her other jacket, she found that it was gone.

_I must have left it in the ward_. She told herself and just as she was about to comment, she felt another heavy weight come to rest upon her shoulders and she was suddenly engulfed in warmth.

Looking back over her shoulder, she found Bard there and he had shrugged out of his warn fur jacket and placed it over her own shoulders.

"Take mine." He lightly pressed her.

"I'll be fine." The blonde muttered, about the shrug off his jacket but his hands remained holding the coat on her.

"Ren, it's winter outside." He chastized her slightly, his brow set in a firm frown. "It's snowing for Aulë's sake and it's a long walk down to the ward."

Listening to his words and momentarily glancing at Tilda, the she-elf couldn't help but give in to his request. She had to be a good role model for the child. Never go out into the cold without a coat on.

Looking up into his deep brown eyes, she found it very hard to refuse him and slipped her arms in the sleeves, the coat obviously being too big for her but it didn't matter. It just mattered that it kept her warm.

"Thank you." She said quietly as he helped her to settle it upon her shoulders. Then reaching out with tentative fingers, he lightly pulled her braid free from where it had been tucked inside her coat, leaving it now to instead hang freely down the middle of her back.

The dark haired man didn't reply but instead gently squeezed her shoulders before turning back to Tilda.

"Best be off with you then?" He grinned widely down at his little girl, reaching out to gently fix her scarf which she had tied haphazardly around her neck. "Hopefully you will make it back for dinner? We wouldn't want you to miss it now would we?"

She just shook her head and Ren smiled and offered her hand to the little girl who took it without a second thought, a huge grin upon her face as she did so. Then, the blonde gave him a warm smile before pulling open the door and stepping out into the cold.

"Thank you again, Bard." Legolas told him and with a firm nod of his head in response to his words, the elf was following behind her and his youngest daughter.

The elleth pulled the door shut behind the three of them and they set off into the world, leaving the bargeman to watch as two of the three most important women in his life walk down his front porch and off into the snowy world, leaving him to anxiously await their return to him.

* * *

><p><strong>Hey guys!<strong>

**Finally got this part out. We've been having problems with our internet for the past couple days and it's only just now started to work again. **

**So in this chapter, we have more interaction with Legolas. But this is only the beginning, don't worry. Probably going to make this into a multiple story chapter as well. I'm thinking perhaps... four chapters? Maybe five if I string things out?**

**Anyway, more fluff and stuff. More Bard being cute. I know Legolas seems kind of strange in this story, more open and talkative but I simply blame it on the fact that he got hit pretty hard over the head and it's making him weird.**

**Next chapter will probably be another chapter of Gladiator. Will probably start writing it tonight but I don't know when I will get it finished because I'm having surgery tomorrow. Kinda nervous about that and hopefully things will go well. **

**Should be laid up for a couple days after that but hopefully I'll use that time to write to my hearts content. Wish me luck, anyway. A few well wishes might be good to cause I hate surgery and am terrified. Lol. **

**Oh! I also thought about anther AU I could do where perhaps there is a bit of a story between Richard and the actress who would have played Ren in the movies? Like a little romance thing where their characters fall in love, as do the actors playing them kinda thing?**

**Anyway, just tell me what you guys think. If you have a new idea for a fic, then just hit me up and I'll think about it!**

**So, you know what to do, read and review!**

**Love, **

**Blue**

**P.S. Didn't get to say Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays but... Merry (late) Christmas! **


	8. Gladiator Ch 5

**Gladiator Ch. 5**

**(Eventual Thorin/Ren)**

Taking the crown from his head, the King placed it back in its rightful place and glanced at himself in the mirror for a moment but his head suddenly turned in the direction of the arch across the way, his eyes drifting to where his manservant was talking to the female slave. He was about to lead her into the bath after he had filled it with the warm water, like Thorin had requested previously.

"You'll find that there are plenty of soaps and oils right inside the wall by the tub." Anuon said in Westron as he handed Ren her chain and ring. The she-elf only nodded in response and walked beneath the doorway that led to the King's private bath.

Shrugging out of his fur robe, he placed it upon the back of the chair beside the mirror and pulled his tunic over his head before dropping it onto the seat. He also toed his heavy boots off and left them by the table where he kept all his things.

The sound of water splashing could be heard across the room and he couldn't help that one corner of his mouth turned upwards slightly. At least it sounded as though she were enjoying herself.

Suddenly there was a knock at the grand doors across the room and he called out for whoever was there to come in as he pulled the fur mantle back onto his shoulders, leaving his chest bare. The door was opened and in stepped Anuon's younger sisters, both of them pushing two carts full of food in front of them.

He just gave them soft smiles and nods of appreciation before they moved further into the room and began to set things up on the table like he had previously asked of them.

However, something suddenly flashed into the forefront of his mind as he watched the two elves work. Turning his head back towards the bath, he only narrowed his light blue eyes, finding that something odd was definitely going on.

When Anuon had told her of the bath soaps, he had been speaking in the Common Tongue. _The Common Tongue_. And she had responded with a _nod_. _A nod of understanding._

_Like she spoke the language_.

Perhaps it was a fluke. Perhaps he had only imagined the head nod.

With a deep furrow in his brow, he sat down in the soft chair beside the fire and thought about what had just happened before his very eyes. She was an elf, he reminded himself silently. They lived for hundreds to thousands of years and in a world such as Middle-earth, he only imagined that it was be very difficult to _not know_ Westron, especially if she had lived to see the turn of the century, if not many.

With a heavy sigh, he put his feet up onto the ottoman and retrieved his pipe from the inner pocket of his heavy robe. He also withdrew a small matchbox and lit the pipeweed inside the bowl before leaning back in his seat and closing his eyes in an attempt to clear his mind.

Thorin simply sat and basked in the silence surrounding him for the longest time, just enjoying this undisturbed moment in his hectic day. Every once in awhile, his jaw would go slack and the sweet smoke would simply drift from between his lips. The dwarf would also absentmindedly reach out and take hold of his wine goblet before raising his lips to take a sip of it.

His mind was solely on the female in the other room as she bathed. How he wished that he could see her. _All_ of her.

But he couldn't, not _yet_ anyway. However... he could try, especially so if he now believed her to know the Common Tongue. He could pry, quite literally, to see if she spoke it, just as he suspected.

A few minutes passed before he caught movement in the corner of his eye and he slowly turned his head to find the blonde she-elf walking towards him, a large towel wrapped securely around her, leaving only her bare feet and face exposed to him.

In one hand, she carried the ring and chain while the other held the fabric tightly around her thin body.

For a long moment, she just stared at him with her big blue eyes, uncertainty still evident in the deep pools. She did not like being such a state of undress and in front of a man no less. Thorin watched her for a long while as he continued to smoke before he eventually held his hand out and beckoned her closer.

Hesitating a moment, she did as he asked of her again and she shuffled over until she was standing beside his chair, causing the flickering flames to illuminate her golden hair which was still stringy from her bath.

Taking one final deep inhale on his pipe, he placed it to the side on the small side table and rose from his seat.

With those same dark thoughts lingering in his mind, he reached out and brushed her damp hair from her face so that he could see those beautiful eyes. Allowing his mouth to part ever so slightly, he blew the pipe smoke from his lungs as he continued to gaze at her, the tendrils flittering up into the air before dissipating.

Moving behind her, he raised his hands and lightly gripped her biceps in his large hands, his thumbs running over the fabric covered skin.

_Test how far she'll let you go._ He silently reminded himself.

The room was entirely silent and the King stepped forward, effectively pressing himself up against her back. She did not move a muscle but her breathing became more rapid.

He wondered for a moment if she would try to do anything. If, now that he was so close, she would break the promise he had made her swear to and take this chance to beat him senseless while he was distracted.

He would if he were in the she-elf predicament.

"You need clothes." He muttered huskily as he leaned in to press a kiss to the skin just behind her ear. His hot lips remained upon her skin and continued down the side of her throat. Even then, she remained silent. His hands instead released her arms and instead slowly took hold of the towel, so as to not alert her of his intentions. "Or perhaps... _Neither_ of us do."

And with that, he yanked open both sides of the towel, causing the she-elf to gasp loudly.

Dropping the ring and chain, she instead used her hands to try and cover herself which, much to both the dwarf's _relief_ but also a little disappointment, was covered by her small clothes.

She wore a black binder covering her breasts and a pair of very short, black pants covered her lower half.

Still, she tried to hide as much of herself as possible from his eyes. The elleth did not turn back around and instead simply stood, shaking in the cold air that nipped at her exposed and still damp flesh. A bit of fear of the unknown may have also been what caused a few tremors in her body.

Her skin was turned golden in the firelight and for a moment, the King just admired her with his icy eyes.

She was beautiful, he could not deny that.

Despite her lack of food, it was remarkable how she still somehow managed to retain some meat on her bones, allowing for toned muscle to develop.

Sighing heavily through his nose, he tossed the towel aside and it landed across the room on the cold stone floor. Then, taking slow steps towards her once again, he slowly reached out and placed his rough hands on the soft skin of her sides so that he could once again pull her close to him.

His own bare chest pressed against her back and the fur on his robe caused her muscles to twitch.

Reaching around her, he raised his right hand so that he could gently turn her face back towards him. Her eyes which had once been lowered slowly raised themselves to gaze into his own pair.

Then, before either of them realized what was truly happening, Thorin was leaning in, his lips eager to cover her own and he would have had his way should she had not turned away from him at the last moment.

The first act of defiance she had shown him since the night they first met.

A ribbon of anger slowly curled in the dwarf's stomach and he slowly drew back, his eyes darkening significantly before he clenched his jaw.

"You are not going to be a good girl, then?" He asked lowly, his hand returning to her other side, giving both of them a firm squeeze to show his frustration. She didn't respond still but her shoulders heaved as she continued to breathe deeply in hopes of steeling herself.

He dropped his hot lips to her shoulder and pulled her harder against him. His beard scraped against her smooth skin and slowly, his hands began to wander up her sides until his fingers brushed just underneath the edge of the binder. As soon as he did that, her hands where on his and she was trying to push them away but he persisted, knowing that if he was going to get what he wanted, he would have to keep going.

He continued to grab at her and she persisted in trying to push his searching hands away until, finally, she felt as if there was no other choice.

"No!" She whined as she continued to fight against his grip. At first Thorin thought that he hadn't heard her and continued but even then, she spoke up again. "No! _Please_!"

At that, the dwarf lord froze but still kept his lips upon her skin.

"Please... _don't_." She whispered, completely breathless. Finding that he had finally gotten what he had been waiting for, he smirked and released her.

She immediately stepped out of his arms and stumbled away. Ren moved to back away from him but the King stepped forward and stepped on the ring hooked to her chain with his bare foot, pushing the silver into the furs beneath them. Her sapphire eyes were wide with fear and her hands rose to the chain and collar around her throat.

"Was that Common Tongue that I just heard?" He tilted his head to the side, causing his long, dark hair to spill over his shoulder. "Or was I mistaken?"

It was quiet in the room for a long moment.

The elleth sighed deeply through her nose before turning her head away, casting her eyes off to the side. "You were not mistaken."

Just gazing at her for a long moment, he raised his foot off the chain so that the chain once again fell slack. An amused smirk slowly drew back his lips and he shook his head slightly.

She never ceased to amaze him.

"It is as I assumed then." He murmured, straightening up and crossing his arms over his chest. She just raised a brow at him, questioning his words. "I had... _suspicions_ that you could speak Common Tongue. You nodded to Anuon when he spoke to you before you bathed." He began to walk towards her and the she-elf took a small step back but was instead surprised when the dwarf moved by her to retrieve his goblet of wine. "Does your Master know of your secret?"

The she-elf just watched him for a moment as he brought the glass to his lips and drank. "No."

"Why not?"

Again she was quiet for a beat as she thought of what to tell him.

"Have you ever had to go from walking down a road, with all the freedom in the world, to walking down that same road with a pair of shackles around your ankles?" She asked him quietly, a distant look entering into her eyes as she stared into the flickering flames before her. "Have you ever been ripped out of your own life and stripped bare, emotionally and physically, of all that you have ever know?" Her brow furrowed softly for a long moment. "We didn't tell Borgil because it was the last thing that they could take from us..." From where he was standing, the King was surprised to find that a sadness lingered in the depths of her blue eyes. "It's the only power we have left over them... or at least, _had_ over them."

Upon hearing her words, the dwarf simply stared down into his drink for a moment before he raised his eyes to look at her. He was contemplating something hard as he gazed at her from across the room. Then, as if making up his mind, he set down his wine glass and approached her once again, coming to stand just before her.

Ren simply tensed and waited for his next move but felt surprise wash over her as he shrugged out of his heavy fur robe. For a moment, she expected the worst and was about to turn and flee but was instead amazed at the King stepped forward and wrapped his coat around her, covering her once bare skin and protecting her from the chilly air in the mountain.

This left him in only his trousers and the female couldn't help that her eyes may have lingered longer on his bare chest than appropriate. She immediately looked away when she realized he was watching her.

His hands raised to gently hold onto the black fur collar, keeping it closed tightly around her throat.

"If you will speak with me, freely and honestly, in the confines of my chambers and only with me, I will keep your little secret." He told her, his large thumbs running over the soft fur as he still held onto the coat. "And you may maintain this facade around the Slaver."

"Okay." She said quietly, bowing her head.

"Now, come. Let us eat. The food is getting cold." He released his hold on the collar and stepped back, instead offering his large hand towards her. Her wide blue eyes darted from his face to his open palm and she hesitated a long moment before placing her smaller hand into his.

Thorin was amazed when he felt how soft her hand was, first having thought with all the battle she had done, her palms would be rough and calloused from years of being a gladiator. He was very wrong.

And still, he marveled at how much smaller and more delicate her fingers looked while encased in his own. Yet, something about it made him further soften inside as well.

"Do you have clothes that I can send for?" He asked her as he began to lead her over to the table where his servants had laid out the food. Ren reached down and picked up her chain so that it didn't drag on the ground.

Releasing her hand, he pulled out a chair beside the main one at the head of the table and she was about to sit when he simply turned to look at her, a dark glint once again entering into his icy irises.

"When you are asked a question, you are meant to answer." He growled lowly, again not enjoying this disobedience that she was showing him. She didn't respond but instead slowly nodded her head, lowering her gaze to the floor. "I will only ask once more... Do you have clothes that I can send for?"

"No." She said quietly, still not meeting his eyes.

Her response caused the dwarf lord's head to snap up in surprise. "No?"

"No. My Master has not bought clothes for us in years." She explained quietly, shifting her grip on the ring and chain. "And the set I had, I gave away to one of the younger girls."

Thorin again just gazed at her for a long moment before he suddenly took hold of her hand again and led her across the room and to one of the large wardrobes off to the side of the room. Pulling open one of the various drawers at the bottom, he began to dig through the clothes in there before he withdrew a pair of dark brown breeches as well as a deep red tunic.

"Here." He handed them to her. "You may wear these."

Taking them into her own hands, she looked at the dwarf skeptically for a moment but his stern glare forced her not to question him and instead she shrugged out of his unbelievably warm robe and handed it back to him. She easily slipped her head into the soft fabric of the tunic and stuck her arms through the armholes.

She then unfurled the pants and hastily stepped into the pant legs before pulling the strings tight so that the breeches actually fit around her slimmer waist.

These clothes were designed for a dwarf after all so it wasn't surprising that the blonde was nearly swimming in the fabrics lent to her. The tunic hung around her smaller frame, much too big for her but it would serve its purpose.

And something inside the King felt satisfied to see her in his garb.

Wordlessly, he slipped his robe back on around his shoulders and he lead her back to the table where they took their respectful seats.

There was a proper feast laid out before them, consisting of some venison, freshly baked bread, some steamed potatoes and butter, a variety of other cooked vegetables, fruits of all kinds, and wine. Thorin began to fix a plate for himself but slowed when he realized that Ren had failed to move at all. She was just staring hungrily at the food before her.

"You may have anything that you like." He told as he himself began to eat. He had intentionally missed his dinner so that he may dine with her. Still, she did not move and the dwarf sighed heavily in frustration, pressing the heel of his palm into his forehead as he struggled not to snap at her. "Please eat. I will not have you simply sit there and watch me eat while I know that you are starving." His words caused the female to look up at him.

"I'm sorry." She said quietly, her eyes diverting themselves from his icy gaze. "It has just been so long since I've seen this much food." Her gaze roved over the various bowls laid out before her. "It's been so long since any of us have seen this much food."

The King couldn't help the pang that suddenly throbbed through his heart and the sick feeling he felt in his stomach. However, he just remained silent as he continued to chew the savory pork in his mouth.

After a few more quiet seconds, the she-elf finally began to spoon some food onto her plate, taking smaller amounts but at least she was now considering the idea of actually eating.

"Tell me, Ren…" Thorin mused between bites of his meal, his mind briefly flickering back to the first night when they had met, personally. "What did you truly say when I asked if you were hungry the first night we spoke?" He mused, his blue eyes narrowing on her form as a sly smile came over his lips. "For I fear as though your Master may have stretched your words a bit."

"I said that I would not eat until the others received their own meal. For that was what he promised me beforehand and I expected him to keep his promise."

"He said he'd give the others food?" He asked, his brows slowly furrowing.

She nodded her head but still did not eat. "There are some night's we go without anything to eat or drink." Her brow furrowed gently as she told him this, unsure if she should be saying anything. "Just because he thinks us immortal, he can save a few pieces of gold by not feeding us."

Again the King just looked at her for a long moment. It wasn't surprising to say the least that Borgil had been neglecting his slaves. That much was easy to see but the dwarf lord never suspected it would be this bad.

"What if I promised that your friends will receive more food than they could have ever dreamed about?" She only sent him a strange look, her eyes narrowing slightly. "Would you eat then?"

She averted her eyes from him. "Yes."

"Anuon." The dark haired male called for his manservant who stepped through the archway that led to the King's private bath. He had just finished taking care of the remnants of the bath she had taken. "Send for Dwalin."

Without another word, the elf nodded and left. However, he would only be gone for a few moments before he returned with the Master of Arms.

"I was just coming to see you to give you the report on the rebuilding of the watch towers on Ravenhill." He muttered, walking into the room at a brisk pace with his head down. It was clear that he was in a hurry to get the rest of his work done before it got too late at night. It always seemed like he never rested.

When he looked up to begin speaking to Thorin, he opened his mouth but paused when he realized they were not alone.

Turning his head to the side, he found that there was a blonde female seated at the table beside his King and it took him a moment to realize who she actually was. He looked back to the dwarf lord, a merry twinkle in his eyes as his lips curled slightly. "_Oh_." He chuckled quietly, allowing his eyes to drift back to the female. "Is... Is this the little fighter?"

Thorin couldn't help but smirk and he bobbed his head in confirmation.

"She looks so different." The large dwarf remarked, his eyes still intently gazing at her. It was hard to believe that the entrancing figure before him was actually the gladiator champion. This version of her was so different... so _soft_. Tame, almost.

"Indeed." The other dwarf replied and then he sighed heavily through his nose. "Though, she won't eat..." Both of the males looked at her and Ren remained silent as she allowed her eyes to flicker between the two of them, lingering longer on the raven haired man as she withheld her facade.

"Why not?" Dwalin growled, his brow suddenly furrowing deeply.

"She says that she will not eat until her companions receive food as well." The King explained, leaning back in his seat for a moment to look at her as well.

"You're bargaining with a slave, now?" The warrior arched one of his brows in question.

Still having been watching her, Thorin had to stifle a chuckle that threatened to slip from his mouth when the elleth sent the gruff creature a sharp glare. This was almost too priceless, he decided; watching her react to his Master of Arms' gruff words about her. It was all the more funny knowing that she could speak Westron now.

"Look past that point, Dwalin." The dwarf lord replied, his lips still curled slightly in a smirk. "And focus on the fact that the Slaver is not feeding his fighters."

The gruff creature was quiet for a moment, his face void of emotion as he stared blankly back at the King as if he had had enough that day. He sighed heavily through his nose. "You want me to see to it that they get food?" He guessed, crossing his arms over his chest. This wasn't the first time he had been sent on mundane yet important tasks for his lord. After a moment, he broke his stony resolve. "Anything else?"

"Yes, actually." The King was once again looking at Ren, a warm glow in his normally icy eyes. "Give them blankets and pillows. Take them some clothes as well, a tunic and a pair of trousers. Also, a pair of proper boots for each of them."

The large warrior just looked at him oddly for a few moments before his brow slowly furrowed. And yet, he didn't question his King. "Is that it?"

"That should do nicely, thank you Dwalin." He replied and the other dwarf turned to leave but not before he snorted through his nose as he strode towards the door across the room.

"Mahal, Thorin. You're turning into a big _softie_." He grunted before exiting the room, leaving a smirking dwarf lord and a confused female in his wake.

Once he was gone, the blonde turned back around in her chair, a curious glint as she looked back at her lone companion in the room. "He calls you by your first name?"

The dwarf's smirk widened some. "Dwalin and I are old friends. He was by my side when we took back the mountain." He explained and then leaned forward in his seat, picking up his fork where he had left it. "Now, enough talking. Hold up your end of the agreement and eat your food."

Looking back to her own plate, she sighed quietly and picked her fork up as well before stabbing some meat. For some odd reason, it felt as though a weight had been lifted off his shoulders when Ren actually put the food into her mouth and began chewing. They were making progress at least.

And once she started eating, she _really_ started eating.

Taking in stride the fact that a feast lay before her, the she-elf wasn't afraid to indulge herself and began to clear out most dishes, much to the dwarf lord's amusement.

However, when he picked up another goblet and filled it full of wine, the woman paused a moment in her chewing, watching the red liquid splash into the golden cup. After he was finished, he placed it beside her plate and gauged her reaction.

The elf just continued to stare at it as she slowly resumed chewing before she swallowed and allowed her eyes to raise to him. "Do you have any water instead?" Her voice was slightly hoarse as she swallowed thickly, the cool liquid now drowning her with thoughts of itself in her mind.

Wordlessly, the King reached out and picked up her own cup before he dumped the wine inside into his own goblet. He then picked up a simple, silver pitcher off a cart beside him and refilled her drink before handing it to her.

She immediately raised it to her lips and drank heavily, not stopping to take a breath as she completely emptied it of its contents and extended it to him in hopes that he would refill it. Thorin just watched her a long moment, a soft frown upon his features before he poured more water inside. And it would only cause his frown to deepen when he would do it two more times before she was even sated.

The two continued to dine for another long while, or rather, the dwarf had finished eating and now he only sat back at watched as she began to clear off the rest of the plates.

He was glad she was eating now and didn't appear to be slowing down. For a moment, he wondered how long she had gone without eating or drinking anything.

"Ren...?" She looked up from her food. "How long have you been fighting for Borgil?"

The blonde just continued to chew the soft meat in her mouth as she shrugged her shoulders. She sighed through her nose and looked blankly across the room, a distant look in her eyes. "I'd say about ten years, give or take."

"Ten years?" He murmured slightly, his brow furrowing.

She had endured ten hard years of living as a gladiatorial slave and had managed to survive the entire time, her wonderful fighting skills no doubt the reason why she was sitting there with him.

What concerned him more was how she had managed to survive living under the care of the greasy Slaver.

"So, that means that the other one...?" He furrowed his brow deeply as he searched the recesses of his mind for a name for the other blonde she-elf. He waved his hand about as he thought.

"Cel?"

"Yes, Cel. She has been with Borgil just as long?" Again, Ren just nodded in response, wondering where he was going with these questions. "And what about the others?"

"They get traded a lot, most of them only staying with us for a year or two. Two of the men have been around for about four years but other than that, Cel and I have been there the longest."

"Because you fight well...?"

"Because I fight exceptionally well." She murmured, taking another long drink of water from her golden cup.

It was quiet for a long while after that. Ren soon finished eating and the dwarf just watched her out of the corner of his eye as she raised a napkin to her mouth and wiped her face clean, these manners surprising him greatly.

But then he remembered, she had only been in slavery for ten years. She had no doubt lived a fulfilling life before she was captured.

"Her name was Mal, correct?" The King himself finally broke the silence, causing her to turn and look at him. It took half a beat before sadness flooded her gaze and she lowered her eyes, the incident still fresh in her mind. She could still feel the warm blood upon her now clean fingers, still hear her labored breathing as if she still lay before her.

Ren just gave a little nod.

"I'm sorry about your loss." He rumbled, his brow set in a small frown and the blonde just continued to stare down into her lap.

"Accidents happen." The she-elf replied quietly, her eyes distant and the dwarf could easily see that she was thinking about the dark haired girl. "There is nothing you can do to change it." She sighed heavily, her shoulders slumping as she did so.

"How long was she with Borgil?"

"About a year and a half." The blonde explained, her eyes slowly raising to look at him. "It may be hard to tell but she was so, _so_ much younger than the rest of us, only just reached her hundredth year a couple months ago." He blinked as he digested her words and he began to wonder just how old the woman before him was. "She wasn't a fighter. Never had fought because she didn't like it, said it was too bloody."

"Yet your Master put her into the arena?"

"I had been training her but... she struggled a lot. Again, it went against her nature, unlike some of us." As she said this, a small smirk curled one corner of her lip for a moment, eliciting a similar response from the dwarf lord. However, the glimmer of mirth was gone and was once again replaced with remorse and guilt. "I tried to protect her."

"Sometimes, you cannot save everyone." He told her, placing his chin into his palm as he leaned his elbow on the armrest of his chair.

"I know." She replied, her eyes once again falling and she twiddled her thumbs together. "But, even after knowing that, the pain of a loved one's death hurts no less."

The room was filled with silence for a long while after that. Thorin eventually rose from his seat and moved silently across the room so that he could sit back down in his seat beside the fire. Picking up his pipe from where he had left it, he reached into the pocket of his robe and withdrew a match that he used to light the pipeweed inside the bowl.

He inhaled deeply and allowed the smoke to fill his lungs before he breathed out through his mouth. Glancing back over his shoulder, he found that the woman still remained in her seat.

"Will you join me beside the fire?" The dwarf rumbled, the flames before him casting a strange light upon his face.

The she-elf raised her eyes to look at him before she rose from her seat without saying a word. However, before she moved to join him, she began to stack the plates and bowls together, trying to help out her elven companions but it was the dark haired King's voice that stopped her.

"Come, sit. That is not your job to do." This caused her to frown softly and she glanced back at the brunet elf who stood beside the door across the room, a blank look upon his face.

Heeding his words, she left the dishes upon the table and picked up her chain and the ring that had been dangling on the floor when she was eating.

Shifting the large tunic that barely sat upon her shoulders, she padded across the expanse of furs stretched out before the fire and sat down just before the dwarf's large chair. Looking down at the ring in her hand, she rubbed her thumb along the smooth surface before raising her eyes and extending it in the dwarf's direction.

He had been watching her the entire time and as she did so, he felt the tip of his pipe slip from between his lips.

His eyes flickered to hers and he saw the strangely submissive way that she held herself as she sat below him. And here she was, offering him the end of her leash.

Feeling a small frown form on his face, he sat forward and carefully took it from her hand. But, he didn't stop there.

His fingers traveled up the length of the chain until they reached the collar around her throat. He then carefully took the little latch into his hand and unclipped it from the collar before he wound up the rest of the leash and put it aside on the end table, displaying the apparent trust that he had bestowed in her.

The blonde woman just sat and looked up at him with wide blue eyes, disbelief shinning through those cool irises of hers. He then reached and lightly patted the top of her head, his fingers brushing lightly through her soft hair. "Would you mind if I asked you some questions?"

"You're the King." She murmured, not daring to move as he continued to gently ruffle her hair. "You can do whatever you please."

At her words, he couldn't help the slow smirk that spread across his lips as he continued to stroke her golden tresses. "That may be so but... I feel as though I must apologize for how I... _touched_ you... earlier." His hand stilled for a moment and she looked back up into his eyes. "It was highly inappropriate of me but I want you to understand, I only did so because I had suspicions that you could understand us when we spoke." His hand then slipped down and lightly cupped her chin to turn her face more towards him. "I hope you will forgive me."

She thought about his words for a few moments, wondering if she should actually try to be reasonable with him. "You didn't hurt me." Ren replied but there was still a little mistrust that shown in her eyes. "And you have been kinder to me than many others have." His thumb stroked across her lower jaw and she had to fight the urge to lean heavily into his touch. "And for that, I am more than grateful."

Thorin just peered down at her for a moment, his blue eyes holding many emotions, many of them muddled and mixed together. "What do you think of your Master? Do you like him?"

The she-elf thought about this for a long moment before replying, "Did he tell you to ask me that?"

This caused the dwarf to chuckle. "I can promise you he did not." Thorin replied, a small smile still on his face. The female looked at the silver chain that now rested on the table before lowering her head, contemplating how she would answer his question.

"I hate him." She said quietly, sounding almost defeated, something that the dwarf lord found unusual. "He makes us fight, even if we don't want to or even if we can't."

"Then why do you fight?" He murmured quietly as he released her chin and simply looked down at her. "Why do you just not refuse?"

"I can't afford to tell him no." Her brow furrowed deeply and if possible, her eyes seemed to blaze more as she clenched her fists in barely concealed anger. "If I did, he would punish the others."

At hearing her words, Thorin felt his own brow dip slightly in a frown. "He uses them as leverage."

She slowly nodded her head, her fingers relaxing to run absentmindedly over the soft fur beneath her before she decided to speak again. "I fight so that they don't have to."

This only caused more unease in the dwarf king. For he didn't like the way she was speaking about her life and in the back of his mind a voice whispered that he could be the one to change the one to change it.

* * *

><p><strong>So, this has been a long time coming. More fluff to come between the two of them in the future, given that they are actually going to act civil around each other. <strong>

**Sorry this took about a million and a half years to publish. I've just been swamped with work and school stuff lately, it's driving me crazy. Plus, this story is turning about to be a lot longer than I first planned. **

**Next chapter will probably be the Bard/Ren/Legolas story or if I feel like it, a new AU that I want to work on. **

**But, anyway, thanks for dropping by! If you want, you can go ahead and leave a review or favorite and follow my work! **

**Thanks again for all the lovely feedback as well and I hope you enjoy!**

**YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO, READ AND REVIEW!**

**Love,**

**Blue**


	9. Fili Imagine 1

**These have absolutely nothing to do with To Your Mark but people on tumblr really enjoyed them so I'd figure I'd post these two Fili drabbles because... well, _Fili_. **

**Imagine Fili telling you about the life he wished you two would have had as you lay dying after protecting him during the Battle Of Five Armies**

Gritting your teeth, you willed your arm to raise your sword above your head one final time. However, your aching body was only able to get it partway up to where you truly wanted it so you had no other choice. Your other hand rose from where it had been staunching the blood flowing from the deep wound on your stomach so that you could grip the sword in both your hands to lift it.

The large orc growled up at you from his place at your feet, its dark eyes glaring at you defiantly. Using what remained of your strength, you brought your weapon down, effectively killing the beast.

A sound that was a mixture of a heaving sigh and a groan of pain escaped your lips as you once again held your sword limply in one hand while the other immediately shot to your wound which pulsed painfully with your killing strike. Your eyes scanned the surrounding ruins, finding absolute relief that it appeared as though you had taken care of the last of the orcs on Ravenhill.

Finally, you could rest.

A second strangled sound left your lips as you let your loyal sword fall from your hand so that it clattered loudly onto the stones beneath foot. Pure relief coursed through you as you stood there, eyes staring off blindly into the sun that had somehow broken through the thick clouds that had accumulated during the battle.

Slowly sinking to your knees, you allowed your eyes to fall shut and a small smile curled your lips. Your job was done and now it was time for you to finally breathe. Pulling your hand away, you blankly stared down at the scarlet liquid that covered your leather covered palm, finding that it no longer fazed you.

_So, this is where your journey ends._ You thought to yourself squeezing that hand into a fist as you once again stared off into the distance. _This is finally where I meet my end._ A few tears pricked at your eyes but a satisfied smirk settled on your features nonetheless. _Honorably protecting the line of Durin._

By some miracle, you had killed Bolg, unknowingly saving Kili and perhaps even Fili. But unfortunately, the large orc had also given you a nice gift to remember him by before he met his demise at the tip of your sword. A gift that would also bring your own ending. And yet, you still fought on with the singular thought to protect the Durin heirs in mind until Ravenhill was cleared of all foul creatures.

Unable to hold yourself up any longer, you collapsed onto the hard ground, your hand still desperately clutching at the thick armor in hopes of somehow stopping the extensive flow of warm liquid trickling down your torso and onto your trousers. Your back met the cold, hard ground and yet, you found you could care less as you lay there. All you had to do now was wait for your own inevitable end.

There was nothing more you could do but stare up at the sky which was slowly turning lighter with every second that passed.

_At least they are safe._ You thought as you licked your lips since what felt like the first time since the battle had begun which truthfully felt like a decade ago. During the fight, it had felt as though every part of your body ached but now as you lay on the hard stones, a strange heaviness filled your limbs. _At least he is safe._

Thoughts of the golden prince suddenly swirled inside your head, bringing you more comfort than pain.

The two of you had become closer than what was undoubtedly appropriate since all those months ago when Gandalf had asked you turn up in the Shire in hopes of providing extra protection for the exiled king and his nephews.

You remembered the first time you had caught sight of him: Gandalf had just finished introducing you to the Company in Bag End and the rest of the dwarves had left to return to their food when the dwarf prince came up to talk to you. Fili been the first to offer his 'services' to you, whatever that meant. Now being the gruff and rather pessimistic ranger that you were due to your life full of hardships, you had only laughed bitterly in his face and said you didn't require his services but you were unfortunately at his.

He had of course deflated a bit at this, not used to being snubbed so easily and by a woman no less. But, you couldn't help it. When your family and all those you had ever loved had been taken from you in the night raid, you had sworn yourself to a life of service, protecting those who could not defend themselves. And you had lived a life of isolation and vengeance.

You were cold and standoffish but concerning risky jobs as this, you had to be.

However, as the journey progressed, both Fili and his brother had continued to pry at the emotional walls you had put up around yourself since that faithful night and it seemed as though they only found success, though it was slow going. You had almost become a legend in the North, for your skills with a sword were renowned. And, with the threat of Azog the Defiler being reborn, the Company could use another blade to protect the line of Durin.

At first, you had been detached and impersonal. This was just another job; a job with a healthy promise of gold when everything was over. You, however, had made a grave mistake.

You had become attached.

And not just to the young heirs but to the rest of the Company as well, even the hobbit but more surprisingly, the King Under the Mountain himself. It was strange, the sense of loyalty you felt towards him and his kin. As time passed, you had softened drastically and found that you were quite found of the dwarves, some more than others.

Fili being the one you were most fond of.

It had been an accident of course. You hadn't meant for it to happen but does anyone ever mean to fall in love with someone?

Amazingly enough, the blond prince reciprocated your feelings, as he had told you when the two of you had been casually searching the halls of Erebor, looking for wares and supplies for the Company during their stay in the mountain.

You two had been completely alone when he told you how he felt about you. He had said it so sadly though, having thought that you would never feel the same, that you could never love him the way he loved you. It had only been half a moment before you completely banished those thoughts from his head when you stepped towards him and soundly kissed him, showing him just _how much you_ loved him.

The flapping of large wings brought you from your thought process and you slowly opened your eyes, your mind vaguely registering that huge birds- no, eagles- were flying overhead. They were the same that had already saved the Company from peril once and here they were again.

You were once again going to close your eyes and simply succumb to the blackness that was starting to gnaw at you but all those thoughts fled when you heard footsteps and they were getting closer.

Weakly raising your head off the ground, you looked around at the ruins of what was once a lookout tower and found that it was empty but you could still hear someone approaching. Swallowing thickly, you reached a hand up and into your shoulder armor, your hand closing around the hilt of a dagger that you had placed there. For it seemed that Fili's habit of hiding weapons in every possible knock and cranny had rubbed off on you as well.

It was a stray orc or goblin, you figured, having come back to search the bodies of its fallen comrade for anything that could be even remotely useful.

Gripping the hilt of the weapon tightly, you simply lay your head back against the ground. Feigning dead and attacking when the beast was least suspecting was your only option. So, just as you had been doing for the past couple minutes, you lay there and waited.

"Y/N?!" At hearing the familiar voice, your eyes shot open. The footfalls increased dramatically in speed and you could hear rapidly breathing.

Ignoring the cold that was seeping into your limbs, you felt your eyes begin to tear up and you allowed your head to turn to the side. And you saw him then, the dwarf who owned the voice. _Your_ dwarf.

"Fili." You breathed in relief, happy to see him fine, standing before you, looking to be fairing well save for the fact that he looked very battle-worn and exhausted. You released the dagger in your land, causing it to clink as it landed on the snowy ground.

"Y/N..." His eyes were locked with your's for a long moment before he rushed forward to kneel at your side.

Instantly, one of his hands was clutching to your own and his eyes moved lower, wanting to search you over for any wounds and you watched as he froze when his eyes reached your abdomen. Horror bloomed in his beautiful blue eyes and his mouth fell open as a shuddering breath escaped his lips.

It was plain to see that he saw the reason as to why you hadn't come running to him with a huge smile on your lovely face.

Bringing his other hand to his mouth, he bit the end of one of his leather glad fingers and pulled the glove from his hand before tossing it away as if it was nothing. The next thing you registered was his large, warm palm cupping your cheek, his thumb brushing against your cheekbone. The blond princeling was just staring down into your eyes, worry and deep sadness filling the bright blue pools.

There was a harsh wind that suddenly blew across the mountain range, sweeping across the two of you. Being human and not having as thick of skin as dwarves, you couldn't help but shiver slightly when the cold hit you.

"I'm s-so cold, Fili." You managed to stutter out, both the cold from the winter winds and... something else beginning to creep into your muscles.

"Okay." He bent over you and pressed his lips to your brow, his voice showing how unsettled he was. "I'm-I'm going to be right back, Y/N. I'm going to find help just... Stay still." He told you, his crystal clear eyes gazing intently into your own, showing the fear he was feeling.

"Fili, it's-it's no use." You told him and you watched how his own eyes glassed over more. A soft, barely audible but still shuddering sigh escaped his lips at your words.

"I must try." The prince stated, almost as if he were trying to convince himself more than you. "I must try to save you." He gave your cheek one final affectionate stroke with his thumb and with a last look at your pale face, he rose to his feet and began to move off.

Your eyes slipped closed and a few stray tears fell from the corners of your eyes. Licking your lips, the dwarf prince didn't get very far before you were calling out to him.

"Fili!" His footsteps slowed. Turning your head, you opened your glistening eyes to find him looking back intently at him. "Amrâlimê, please..." You whimpered, fear beginning to curl around your own heart. You didn't know if you would last until he returned. And even if he did find help and you managed to survive those minutes alone, there was little that could be done for you. "Please _don't leave me_."

Swallowing thickly, the dwarf gazed out into the distance, his eyes still glassy as he fought against himself. And he himself had seen the wound, seen how much blood you were loosing. He was no healer and in fact knew very little about medicine... but even he knew.

Turning to look back at you, it almost broke your heart to see the tears brimming in his eyes but he nonetheless nodded.

"I won't." He promised you, his lip quivering slightly.

Walking back over to you, he once again knelt down at your side and instead slid his arms underneath you, one underneath your back and the other beneath your knees. Very carefully, he lifted you into his lap and maneuvered you so that he was cradling you in his arms, providing your body with a bit of extra warmth. He leaned back so that his back was braced against a boulder and another was blocking out the wind, protecting the both of you from the cold mountain air.

"Is that better?" He asked you quietly as he shifted his grip on you, one of his hands draping across your lap so that he could hold his hand in your own, completely uncaring if your blood soiled his clothes.

You just weakly nodded your head in response as you gazed up at him. Something was dulled in your normally sparkling irises, as if you were not entirely there with him on the mountainside.

And it terrified him to no end.

"I looked for you forever." The prince muttered, his thumb stroking the back of your hand. "One moment I was ridding behind you on a goat and then you were gone."

You had remembered: Thorin had somehow found you in the mix of battle and had pulled you aside. He had asked you to follow him up to Ravenhill so that you, one of his best and most trusted fighters, could help him end the war without so much bloodshed. And you had gone with him, following your king's command without a second thought.

"But you found me." You replied, weakly smiling up at him. Reaching up, you lightly tugged on one of the ends of his braided mustache, hoping that even in your state, you could ease some of his tension.

He didn't respond and instead just furrowed his brow slightly.

You didn't want it to end like this, seeing him looking down at you with nothing but remorse in his normally warm eyes. This was not the Fili you knew. This was not the Fili that made you laugh or that had kept you company during your turn on night watch. This was not _your_ dwarf.

Turning your head, you just stared up at the sky once again, finding it fascinating that it was now turning golden.

"Azaghâl..." He said quietly, desperately wanting your attention in your last few minutes in Middle Earth.

"Not like this." You ignored the endearment, one he had been calling you long before he had expressed his feelings to you. He and Kili often did during that during the quest, spoke in their language when important matters, mostly concerning you, came up. And you didn't understand a word they said, until Fili began to share bits of Khuzdul with you.

Your eyes once again drifted to his and you saw the question lying in those azure pools. "I don't want to go like this; seeing you like this." You begged him as you nestled closer to his body, searching for a warmth that would do little in warming you. "Let us talk of happier times."

"Okay." He said quietly, slowly nodding his head as well to reassure you.

"What do we do... now that the battle is over?" You asked offhandedly, eyes lightly following an eagle that suddenly flew over your hiding spot. Fili didn't say anything but he was suddenly wondering why you were asking such a question. "Now that the war is won, where do we go from here?"

It took him a moment but the prince eventually came to understand what exactly it was you wanted.

"Well..." He started slowly, one corner of his mouth curling upward and yet the action held no happiness in it. "I think you could use a bath." He reached out and lightly stroked your matted hair, his thick fingers gently running over the very braid that he had tied there the night before. A promise to you, he had said.

"You're looking rather filthy yourself, Master Dwarf." You teased him, your voice coming out softly as you cupped his own cheek, your thumb brushing away some orc blood from his soft skin. A slow and rather devious smirk found it's way onto your lips as rather inappropriate thoughts filled your head. "We could save water and bathe together...?"

The prince's brow rose in what was either surprise or interest before a soft smile pulled at his lips. "I would have it no other way... my lady."

Your smile instantly fell and it was now your turn to raise a brow at him while he continued to beam. It had been established early on in the journey that titles were not to be used, especially when referring to you. You were not a lady and you never thought you would be. But, more recent events had caused you to rethink those thoughts.

It was quiet between the two of you for a long moment.

Your brow suddenly furrowed, for genuine concern suddenly washed over you. "How do we plan to get the dragon-stink out of the mountain?" A hardy chuckle came from the dwarf beneath you, one that was actually full of amusement and was _real_. You yourself couldn't help the lazy grin on your lips at the sound of joy and at the idea itself. "Honestly, _how_? Because when we were in there, especially in the treasure room, it smelled horrible..."

"We'll figure something out." He mused, brushing a few strands of hair from your face. "Uncle and Kili will surely think of something."

"Kili and Thorin." Your mind suddenly snapped to the other two members of the line of Durin. For it seemed as though it was only Fili that you had only ever been concerned about. "Do they live?"

"Yes, both of them." The blond told you, adoration shinning in his eyes. "No thanks to you."

"You know Kili is going to be of very little help when it comes to cleaning up..." You mused offhandedly, the lazy grin still on your lips. "He's going to milk that arrow wound for months to come."

"You could put him in his place?"

"Oh, I will." You promised him playfully, relaxing further into the prince's arms as you spoke about the future. A future that was never meant to be.

Again, it was quiet for a long beat.

"Uncle says that spring isn't too far away." Fili broke the silence, his thumb gently stroking over your knuckles, finding it a bit unsettling that they were starting to get cold. For a moment, he just gazed off into the distance, watching as the eagles continued to soar above what remained of the battle. "He says that once spring rolls around, the valleys and prairies will be painted green with life. That the trees will be lush and heavy with fruit." He allowed his gaze to fall to you and a broad smile, a genuine one, pulled at his lips. "And he said that the hollows will be filled with wild flowers of every color imaginable." However, the happiness that once shown on his face melted away and was once again replaced with sadness. "I can't wait to show you." Releasing your hand, he once again raised his to lightly stroke the thick braid woven into your hair. And just as before, his eyes once again began to glisten. "And I have to fulfill this promise..." He licked his lips and he swallowed thickly. "This promise of marriage that I have given you." A few tears slipped from his eyes as he gazed so longingly at you.

He hadn't told you what the braid meant as he wove it into your hair the previous night. He had just said that once the battle was over, he would tell you. He promised you so.

"I can see you now..." A teary smile drew back his lips. "So beautiful and dressed all in white, surrounded by all those wild flowers because that's what you are... my wild flower."

He sniffed suddenly as he tried to regain his composure as those amazingly beautiful yet traitorous thoughts continued to plunder his mind.

"And Uncle says that one day, he'll step down from the throne and that I will become king, making you my Queen Under the Mountain." He shook his head slightly in disbelief. "I will give you everything, my love. Everything you could ever wish for."

You just stared up at him as he spoke of this beautiful future, your e/c eyes half idled as a sleepiness began to edge at your mind.

"Heirs of our own would be expected-"

"And no doubt we would have so much fun making those heirs." You added quietly, a sly smirk now in place on your features. Fili just chuckled at your remark, taking a moment to sniffle again.

"Beautiful children..." He began again, still staring down at you lovingly.

"Blonde children." You corrected him, weakly reaching up to card a hand through his own golden mane. "Though we can only pray that I give you blond boys."

"I would undoubtedly take whatever child you blessed me with." He murmured as your hand slid down to cup his cheek. His own hand raised to join your's, his large, warm palm enveloping your tiny hand entirely. "And we would love them... all of them." A fresh wave of tears began flowing down his cheeks. "Every single child that you blessed me with."

"Kili would be an uncle." You added, your eyes slipping closed as you rested your head on his broad chest. "He would be so happy." You managed to breathe out, a content smile on your lips as an image of a smiling, brunet prince teaching one of your blond boys to shoot a bow played through your mind. But then, the rest of the Company came in as well, all of them loving and providing wisdom to the newest Durin heirs.

"Uncle would be proud, too." An image of the dark haired king reading to your little ones flashed through your head. "You know, he has become quite fond of you. He said he would be proud and honored to call you his daughter."

You just hummed in response as you nuzzled closer to your dwarf, finding that sleep was beckoning you still.

"Y/N..." The blond prince softly called your name, causing you to slowly withdraw from the darkness and open your eyes once again. "Azaghâl...?"

You slowly drew back from where your head had been tucked beneath his chin, a questioning look in your irises. His hand raised to gently cup your cheek. He just stared at you with those beautiful blue eyes of his once again before he found it almost unbearable to look at you any longer what with the way your eyes were drooping so.

Dipping his head, he braced his forehead against your own and his eyes closed tightly, as if he were silently pleading with the Maker to let you stay in this world with him.

"I love you." He whispered, his voice quaking with emotion.

"I love you, too." You breathed back and you allowed your own eyes to fall shut as you simply drank in his loving embrace.

It didn't surprise you when you felt his warm lips cover your own pair and instead you relished in this contact, this unfortunate, final kiss between the two of you.

After what felt like an eternity, your love drew back from you and the two of you gazed at each other again. You couldn't help but let your e/c eyes drink in every feature of his handsome face, permanently burning your dwarf prince into your mind.

Slowly tilting your head to the side, you simply lay back in his arms and offered him a final, loving smile as you closed your eyes and instead nuzzled closer to him again, feeling the weight of sleep tugging on you again.

The blond just shifted his grip on you and pulled you closer, knowing that his time with you was coming to an end.

"I'm so tired, Fee." You said quietly, settling finally against him, a content sigh escaping your nose as you burrowed your face deeper into the warm flesh of his neck.

"I know, Azaghâl." A hard sob wracked through his body, finding that it was now near impossible to keep himself together as he pulled you impossibly close to his body. He craned his neck and placed a loving kiss into your hair, his face remaining there as the tears flowed silently down his cheeks, his nose breathing in your scent. His next words would be the hardest he would ever say and so he was quiet for a moment but even a millennia of steeling himself wouldn't have been enough. It would never be enough to let you go.

"You... can go to sleep now... I'll be right here when you wake up."

And with those words, you completely relaxed against him, a single tear of your own escaping from the corner of your eye as you finally accepted this warm and welcoming sleep, completely at ease in your love's protective embrace. You finally let go.

It was only after he had listened to your breathing cease that Fili finally allowed the hard and jostling sobs to wrack his entire body as he curled around his One. For he had waited, because he certainly did not wish to wake you from your sleep, the sleep that you would forever sleep in his arms.


	10. Fili Imagine 2

**So, this is the second Fili Imagine that I had written. This one isn't nearly as heart wrenching as the last so you have nothing to worry about. This is mostly just a lot of fluff and cuddles so I hope you guys enjoy! **

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><p><strong>1. Imagine Fili defending you when the Mirkwood elves make fun of your appearance. <strong>

**2. Imagine that you are exhausted and cranky and one of the company comes to cheer you up with a tickle fight. The night ends with you kissing and snuggling **

**3. Imagine one of the dwarves trying to make you feel better when you are sad.**

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><p>You could only watch with dismay as the rest of the Company was shoved into their cells, one by one, after being completely stripped of their weapons, just as you had. Now you felt as though you were naked as you stood there without your sword and loyal knives. You had been left to stand awkwardly in the middle of the chaos, a tall brunet elf holding fast to your arm as he patiently waited for his chance to stow you away in one of the small caverns carved into the wall that they had deemed cells.<p>

Suddenly, however, you were being dragged sideways. A string of wild curses left your mouth as you resisted your guard's pull.

"I can walk myself, you dolt!" You growled as you struggled in his grip as you attempted to dig your feet into the ground but to no avail. He was much stronger than you. Swinging the door open, he paid no heed to you words and you were about to be shoved into the tiny cavern when a voice called out and stopped them.

"No, that cell is for the leader when he is done speaking with King Thranduil." Both you and your captor turned back to find that it was the blond elf from before, the one that had threatened Thorin at arrow point back when you and your friends were still in the forest. "Put her into a different one."

"All the other cells are filled, though." The elf holding you replied, his grip tightening slightly on your arm, causing you to grit your teeth. Again, you fought against him, not liking how he was treating you like you were a simpleton.

"Then lock her in with one of the others." One of the other fair creatures came up, this male sporting a head of golden hair as well but his was more rich in color than the leader's was, given that his was more of a white blond. "She'll be fine."

"That's a little... um..." The male holding you shifted nervously, his eyes briefly flickering to your own pair. "Inappropriate. Considering that... well, they're all _men_."

"They are her traveling companions." The dark blond warrior replied, taking hold your other arm tightly and yanking you from your first captor's grasp. You only let out a small noise of protest. You were getting tired of pulled around and was about to voice your thoughts when he spoke up again. "They won't do anything to her." He led you over to another cell before unlocking it and pulling it open. "Besides, I'm sure none of them would want to... what with a face like that."

Your mouth fell open ever so slightly as you looked up at the taller creature.

"Well, you're not exactly a bucket of sunshine and roses yourself, _muttonhead_!" You snapped back before you were shoved inside, rather roughly, too, before you could hardly finish your words. Luckily you didn't lose your footing and instead just stood inside the doorway as he closed the wrought iron bars behind you.

Anger shown in your e/c eyes as you turned back to face him, your hands reaching out to grasp hold of the cell door. The elf just snickered when he saw the rage in your irises and left.

Your brow furrowed softly as you thought about his words, your knuckles turning white as you gripped the steel as you let the fire slowly die from your eyes until it was completely replaced with hurt.

"Y/N?" Upon hearing your voice being called, you couldn't help but slowly turn back around and you found that you had been locked in a cell with none other than the older Durin heir.

A small wave of relief washed over you just then. It wasn't as if you hadn't formed friendships with other members of the Company since the journey began back at Bag End, no it was far from that. There was just something about this certain dwarf that made you both comfortable... and uncomfortable.

You had to admit that you may have taken a bit of a shine to him, to both of Thorin's nephews actually but Fili more so than Kili. There was just something about his laugh and broad grin that always made you warm inside.

"Hello, Fili." You said quietly, your eyes suddenly casting themselves downward as you stood before him.

The dwarf just gave you a concerned look when he noticed the strange glimmer shinning in your e/c pools. He took a few steps forward, his eyes roving over you for a long moment before he reached out and gently took your upper arms into his hands. "They didn't hurt you, did they?"

His crystal blue eyes held yours for a long moment before you lowered them and slowly shook your head. "No." You lied. They had essentially just called you undesirable and said that no one would want you. Of course you were _hurt_, just not physically. "Just a couple feathers ruffled." You joked, looking back up and offering him a small but false smile, receiving one in return. And yet, this wasn't his normally full grin, one that you or Kili often coaxed from him after making a joke or teasing him.

Both of you slowly sobered and it was a moment before he realized that he was still holding your arms. With a faint blush spreading across his cheeks, the blond prince released you and stepped back.

"There's some water and a bowl in the back if you want to wash off." He told you as he jerked his thumb over his shoulder. "I mean, if you want to, you know, wash your face or..." He reached his hand out and lightly lifted a few strands of your thick mane off your shoulder. "Your hair?"

You just wordlessly nodded your head and moved to brush by him, only to find that the rock walls of the cell weren't very wide.

When the two of you bumped into each other and realized that this was going to be more difficult than you first thought, you two just laughed and backed against each wall. Even still, your chests brushed against each other as you moved by him, small smiles still upon both your faces.

You couldn't help the faint blush that spread across your cheeks once you had your back turned on your cellmate as you moved to the back of the cavern where a wooden bowl and pitcher sat. Picking up the pitcher, you began to dump it into the empty bowl before setting it aside.

Cupping your hands as you dipped them into the cool water, you were just about to splash it up onto your face when his voice broke through the silence that had settled between you two.

"I heard what they said." He murmured quietly. Your hands froze in midair, water dripping through the cracks of your fingers. Not trusting your voice, you chose to instead remain silent. "How they said those hurtful things." Again, you remained silent and instead opened your palms, allowing the rest of the water to spill back into the bowl. Eventually, the turbulent waters settled, allowing you to see your reflection and the sad look upon your faces. "You shouldn't listen to them. They don't know what nonsense they speak."

Your heart skipped a beat when you heard his words.

Continuing to gaze down into the reflective pool, you began to frown softly. You didn't think you looked completely horrible in your own eyes, just average, like any other Northern girl. Sure, you were filthy after having wandered the forest aimlessly for days with your companions but if you cleared a little bit of the grime away and pulled some spiderwebs from your hair, you wouldn't look so horrifying. But, the elf's words caused you to suddenly rethink those thoughts.

"Look at them though, Fili. They are _elves_." He placed your hands on the rim of the bowl and just barely glanced at him over your shoulder. "The fairest race in Middle-earth. Everything about them is elegant and alluring."

"That's not how I see them." He replied, his gaze nearly burning holes into your back, you could almost feel it through your tunic. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall. "And besides, they're all daft." You just continued to stare down at your reflection. "Because they cannot see true beauty when it presents itself before them." You were silent still and finally, the blond dwarf just sighed heavily. "Not even if it punched them in the face."

And with those words, he himself grew quiet and turned back to face the door, allowing you a little privacy.

Dipping your hands into the water again, you began to scrub at your face in hopes of riding your soft skin of the mud and dirt that had accumulated over the last few days. When you finished with that, you began to pour some of the water over your head, knowing that upon request, the elves would bring you more water. They weren't that cruel... at least you hopped so anyway.

Just as you were finishing washing up, you heard footsteps and glanced back to find that the elves were delivering some food and as you suspected, more water. They passed a couple loaves of bread and some apples between the bars, as well as a pair of water skins before leaving without another word.

With water still dripping from your thoroughly soaked hair, you turned back to look when you heard footsteps and found Fili standing just before you, your own rations extended in your direction. With a small nod of your head, you accepted your meal and sat down inside the tiny cavern. The dwarf prince just followed suit, sitting perpendicular to you but it still left your knees to brush given the small space the two of you were squeezed into.

You and Fili ate in silence, both of you quickly devouring your food given the fact that you hadn't eat in what felt like days. However, you couldn't be sure of how much time the Company had wasted in the forest given how it was hard to distinguish between the days and the nights.

It wasn't a very fulfilling of a meal but it was something at least. The elves couldn't just let you starve after all. They weren't _that_ inhumane.

After finishing the meal, you simply sat for a moment before slowly dragging your still wet hair over your shoulder and you began to pick through it, knowing that it was an absolute mess. Again, during the venture through Mirkwood, there had been a haze that had settled over the group, a heaviness that felt as though _nothing_ but at the same time _everything_ was real.

Because of that confusion, you'd paid little attention to yourself, if any at all. You hadn't slept, you hadn't eaten except when someone had forced it upon you, and you hadn't drank anything.

The only time you had slept was when you had found a spot between Fili and Thorin as they sat up on watch together one time. For the idea that they were awake and were two of some of the people you trusted most appealed greatly to yoor mind and you had at one point nodded off in the pitch black night. And you had woken up with your head ever so slightly resting upon the blond dwarf's shoulder.

It was only just then that you remembered that, for you feared that many other memories had been lost to the dark shadows of the forest.

"Y/N?" You startled from your thoughts when your cellmate spoke your name, causing your head to slowly turn in his direction. Your hands were still raking themselves through your messy locks, finding that you were making little progress. Your eyes met his for a long moment before he cleared his throat and stroked his braided mustache, a habit that you had come to recognize that he used when he was nervous.

He often did this when Thorin would assign him a task.

"What?"

"Uh..." He began, licking his lips nervously. "I was just wondering if you needed... _help_?"

Brow furrowing slightly, you softly frowned at him, not understanding exactly what he was asking of you. "Need help with what?" He just laughed and shook his head before lightly tugging on his own hair, a nervous smile slowly finding its way on to his lips. "_Oh_." You replied, eyebrows now raising in understanding as you glanced sidelong at the damp rat's nest that hung around your shoulders. "Um... Sure, if you want to. It's really tangled though."

He just smiled wider and laughed again, his eyes crinkling as he did so. "I can see that."

However, he soon clamored to his feet and he undid his leather belt and dropped it onto the floor. Shrugging out of his heavy fur overcoat, he did the same and placed it aside, leaving him in only his brown tunic and trousers.

You scooted forward to make room for him, for you had been leaning up against the rocky shelf upon which the water pitcher and bowl had sat.

Gingerly stepping around you, the dwarf prince slowly lowered himself to sit behind you, his legs splaying out on either side of your own so that he wouldn't have to reach so far to get to your hair. You sat cross legged before him.

Letting it go, you allowed him to sweep the messy tresses back so that the tangled ball rested down your back. Then, very gently, he began to undo the knots, being as careful as possible so as to not hurt you.

There were times where he would suddenly laugh after pulling a leaf or stick out of your h/c mane before setting it aside. "Did you decide to bring the whole forest with you?" Fili finally asked, his tone colored with amusement.

Despite the rather somber mood that you were still in, a small smile managed to grace your lips at his teasing. However, just as you were about to reply, he accidentally pulled your hair, causing a few swear words to tumble from your lips.

"_Y/N_!?" His jaw fell open in amused horror. You could still see the playful glint in his blue eyes. "That isn't very ladylike!"

"You _pulled_ my hair!" After turning to look back at him over your shoulder, he was suddenly stony faced but his lips twitched and you knew he was fighting a grin.

"You mean like this?" He did it again and your head was pulled back slightly, causing you to wince but it wasn't as painful as the first time.

"Yes, stop that, you childish dwarf!"

"Alright. Alright!" The blond held up his hands in surrender and yet the grin finally found its way onto his lips. "I promise I won't intentionally pull your hair anymore! But, I swear to Mahal, the first one _was_ an accident. It was really tangled and there was nothing else I could do..." After a moment of cooly watching his features, you deemed that perhaps he was telling the truth.

"Fine." You murmured, crossing your arms over your chest and pouting slightly. "Don't let it happen again... cause if it does, I will have no choice but to unleash my wrath."

"_Wrath_?" Fili snorted as he continued to pick through your hair, finding that he only had one bad tangle to go, he easily undid it before running his thick fingers through your h/c waves, combing through them a few times to make sure that he had gotten all of them. "You don't have a 'wrath'..."

"Yes I do!" You insisted, your voice climbing in pitch. "You've just never seen me use it before."

"Really?" He leaned forward, resting his chin upon your shoulder and looking up at you. You couldn't help the blush that slowly spread over your cheeks but you ignored his weight upon your shoulder as if he weren't there. "And what exactly, pray tell, would bring forth this wrath?"

"Oh... I don't know." You sighed and your eyes drifted downward to where you were playing with the fraying edge of your leather boot. They had been brand new at the beginning of the journey. Suddenly, you just came to realize everything that your boots had gone through. What you had gone through.

And the Company had been there with you the entire way.

They were your family now, to say the least. Like a giant group of uncles and brothers... and Fili. He wasn't placed into either of the two categories, instead placed in his own that singularly held him.

But, all of them were vastly important to you.

"I suppose..." You began again, your eyes raising to blankly stare out the cell door. "If someone came along and hurt one of you." Slowly nodding your head, you enjoyed the thought of completely destroying anyone who threatened your new family. "Then I would exact my revenge and unleash my wrath upon them."

"Sounds terrifying." The prince murmured after he thought about your words for a moment, his chin lightly digging into your shoulder but you couldn't help the small curl of your lips. "I think I should perhaps stay on your good side then?" He himself smiled and again raised his hand up to lightly brush his fingers through your now soft hair. "But what about yourself? You wouldn't use this... divine power-" Both of you giggled at the strange description but part of you wasn't focusing on his words but on the hand in your hair, softly messaging your scalp. "To protect yourself from others? Sometimes I feel like you let people push you around too much..."

Immediately, you knew what he was talking about. It was the issue with the elves again and you allowed your eyes to fall to your hands which had since stilled on your boot. Another saddened look passed over your face, one the prince was able to catch sight of and he suddenly knew that he shouldn't have brought up the tender subject.

"I'm a big girl, Fili. I can take care of myself." You replied, your tone suddenly melancholic.

As the dwarf prince continued to lounge with his chin resting upon your shoulder, he suddenly got an idea, one that would no doubt distract your mind from the degrading things the elves had said.

"Well... You know what I think?" He asked and you slowly turned your head to look at him. He just raised his thick eyebrows and he held a cheery glimmer in his eyes. "I think you need to smile more; _laugh_ more."

However, as he said this, you showed no signs of doing either of the two. Far from it actually.

"Oh, come on, Y/N. Just a tiny smile..." He lightly prodded at you with his words, his own lips twitching upward slightly as if he were willing you to do so as well. "Smile, _Azaghâl_..." He cooed but you just brushed off his words, not understanding a single word of Khuzdul despite your months with the thirteen dwarves.

You turned away from him. "I was smiling just a couple minutes ago, Fee."

"No. I mean, I want one now. A _proper_ one... with teeth and everything!" Again, the dwarf prince pushed on, his hands slowly moving until they held both your sides. He then began to twist the two of you back and forth in an attempt to rile you up. "Come on, I know you want to smile!"

"Fili..." You growled lowly, not appreciating his suddenly cheerful mood. You scooted away from him and out of his hands, leaving your back feeling cold with his sudden loss of body heat. You hadn't realized that he had been so pressed up against you. "I don't feel like it, okay? Just leave me alone for a bit."

For a moment he deflated, almost physically so and you couldn't help but feel bad. You wouldn't have much time, however, as he suddenly steeled himself again, looking very serious.

"I'm afraid I can't let that happen, my lady." He muttered, a dark grin suddenly coming over his face, one that made you raise a questioning brow. "Not while you're in this mood at least."

"I'm don't have a mood and I'm not going to smile." You grumbled with absolute confidence.

"Then, how about a little laugh?"

"No."

"Y/N-"

"_No_." He huffed in annoyance at your stubborn attitude.

"Then I really have no choice but to do this." He murmured, partially to himself before he was lunging towards you.

His hands were on you in an instant, taking hold of your sides and suddenly tickling you mercilessly. You couldn't help the rather loud squeal that left your throat as he attacked you, sending you into an unstoppable fit of giggles. You pleaded with him to stop between your gasping laughter, causing the prince himself to grin as you continued to choke through his torture, an ear-splitting grin covering your features.

The two of you wrestled around a bit in the small cell until you had somehow become pinned beneath him. He sat on top of your stomach and was still tickling you where ever he could, still eliciting hardy sounds of merriment from you.

However, when he hit one particular spot, just in the dip of your waist, your hand accidentally struck out when he hit an oversensitive bundle of ticklish nerves. Your fist accidentally hit him in the eye and he immediately stopped tickling you. It took a moment to realize what had happened and you opened your teary eyes and found that the blond prince had his hand covering his eye.

Immediately, he felt yourself pale. You were about to open your mouth and apologize when Fili himself spoke up.

"Well, I deserved that." He snorted slightly through his nose, the jab to his eye evidently not affecting him too much as he rubbed at it. "I felt your wrath, like you promised." He nodded his head along as his eye began to water automatically. "True beauty punched me in the face."

You absolutely froze beneath him as he said this, remembering his earlier words. You had played them off as if they had meant nothing but since this was the second time he had said that, you felt as though this wasn't just a metaphor or whatever they were called.

It was at this time you finally found your words.

"Fili, I'm so sorry!" You blurted, your hands raising to cover your eyes. Blood filled your cheeks as you felt wave after wave of embarrassment sweep over you. "I'm just really ticklish in that spot!" He just nodded along with your words, evidently realizing that now. "Does it hurt?"

"No." He said even though his eye was glassy with unshed tears. "I promise, I'm absolutely fine."

"Oh, okay." You just sat quietly underneath him, wondering when he would move off the top of you but at the same time, you wished he never would. A thought suddenly crossed your mind, causing your cheeks to warm again. "Uh..." You licked your lips nervously. "If you want, I could kiss it and see if that make it feel better?"

The dwarf prince slowly opened his undamaged eye and looked down at you to find you staring up at him with one eyebrow raised. "Okay, yeah. That might help a little." He replied almost too hastily, a light blush dusting his own cheeks.

For a long moment, there was an awkward tension in the air before Fili slowly bent down, as if unsure if what he was doing was okay. You yourself were nervous and reaching out with your hands, you gently took hold of his golden hair.

When you glanced at him, you found that both his eyes were closed as he waited for you to do something, so, gently pulling him forward, you raised your head up off the cold dungeon floor and pressed your lips to his brow where part of your fist had connected. The prince remained perfectly still in your grasp but you only allowed your lips to linger there for a moment before you drew back.

The dwarf allowed his blue eyes to slowly open and he gazed down on you with some strange emotion playing through his gaze.

He made no move to draw back and you made no move to push him away, let alone release the braids you had a grasp on. You didn't want him to ever move again.

"Better?" You asked quietly after intently staring into his eyes. He just hummed in response as he gazed back at you, as if he had only partially heard your words. Something else was evidently on his mind and this caused your heart to begin beating faster in your chest. Licking your lips, you found that one question continued to play through your mind, even as you looked up at him. "Fili?" He hummed again. "Do you... Do you really think that I'm beautiful?" You whispered up to him, your fingers gently toying with the plaits in his hair.

Your sudden question didn't seem to faze him in the slightest, as if he had read your mind and had been expecting it.

Reaching out with his own hand, he lightly brushed the backs of his knuckles along your soft cheek. "The most beautiful." He corrected you, a soft smile pulling at the very corners of his mouth, an adoring gleam shinning prettily in his azure irises. "The most lovely maiden I have ever had the pleasure of laying eyes upon."

At his words, you couldn't help the small smile upon your own lips. He really, _really_ thought so.

Then, as if the two of you read the other's mind, you both began to lean towards the other. Gently pulling on his braids, it didn't take long until your lips met his which were remarkably soft and warm.

_Just like Fili._

After exchanging a few more chaste kisses, the two of you just smiled at each other before he rolled off of you, allowing you to sit up. Yet, his warm hand managed to find your own, both your fingers twining together as if they were a perfect fit.

He then backed himself up against the rocky shelf tucked back into the corner of the cell, pulling you along with him. You obliged immediately, wave after wave of pure joy and happiness washing over you as he continued to warmly smile at you. And finally, you smiled back at him fully, giving the prince exactly what he had wanted.

Opening his legs, he allowed you to crawl between them and settle yourself against his strong body before you curled up with your head tucked beneath his chin. The golden prince was softly smiling himself the entire time as he reached out and picked up his fur coat, using it to cover the two of you as you continued to get comfortable. And somehow, despite the hard, rocky ground, the two of you managed it, both of you now completely warm and cozy as you cuddled up together despite the rather dreadful circumstances. It wasn't long before either of you fell asleep and the last thought that played through your mind was that it didn't matter what the elves thought.

For Fili thought you were beautiful and his opinion was the only one that mattered to you.


End file.
